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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610270">Tokyo Butterfly</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_One_True_Nobody/pseuds/The_One_True_Nobody'>The_One_True_Nobody</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tokyo Butterfly [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Discussion of Sexual Abuse, F/M, Female Friendship, Friendship, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Past Sexual Abuse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2018-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:07:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>110,368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24610270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_One_True_Nobody/pseuds/The_One_True_Nobody</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A green-haired whirlwind looking for a new start in a new city transfers to Shujin Academy. When the God of Control seeks to stir the pot and complicate his own game, the timeline next door to the one you know is beset by a second trickster... not of the mystical, Persona-using variety, but a trickster nonetheless.</p><p>Former delinquent Kyo Morinaga's fate had already been derailed by a poorly timed psychotic breakdown incident that effectively ended her life in Osaka as she knew it. After her mother's connections land her a transfer to Tokyo's prestigious Shujin Academy, she tumbles face-first into a phenomenon that might hold the answer to the mystery and to her revenge against the culprit. But before she goes hunting down criminals, she first needs to deal with the threat on her new home turf.</p><p>Walking by her side on this journey is Shiho Suzui, the girl who happened to be there when that weird app activated by accident.</p><p>They say that when a butterfly flaps its wings in New Mexico, it can cause a hurricane in China. So what happens if a butterfly joins high school volleyball in Tokyo? Can the king of this castle of kiss-ups survive her penchant for dragging skeletons out of closets? Probably not.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sakamoto Ryuji/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tokyo Butterfly [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779520</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: A Fly in the Ointment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Archive Warning Note: Since the archive warnings on this site have a tendency to land one's story in the same search pool as smut-oriented fare, I'm opting not to use them, and have used tags instead. That said, this story contains some pretty blunt writing with regards to Shiho Suzui's situation in later chapters. That may make things uncomfortable for some readers.</p><p>Disclaimer: The Persona series of video games and all associated fictional characters or locations are the intellectual property of our lords and masters, the game designers of Atlus, and whoever else has legal ownership of whatever and whichever. The only things that I claim ownership of are this work of fan fiction itself, and the original characters created for it: Kyo Morinaga, her mother Eri, and any others who I create during the process of writing future chapters. I do not intend to derive any monetary profit through the writing and publication of this fan work, and strongly recommend that anyone reading this support the official product by buying and playing Persona 5 themselves.</p><p>Revision Note: At any point in time, with or without out notice, small mistakes, typos, and other minor changes may be made to any chapter of this story as I become aware of them. I will only post additional notes such as this one when an important update or rewrite is posted.</p><p>Cross-Post Note: Multiple chapters of this story were originally uploaded to FanFiction.net prior to being posted here. The story will always be updated on FanFiction.net slightly before it is updated here, though I will endeavor to keep the AO3 version current.</p><p>The FanFiction.net version can be found at the following address: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12892847/1/Tokyo-Butterfly</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As it has been two years since I first posted this story, I've decided to go through the earlier chapters and re-edit them to clean up the writing. This chapter was most recently given a major re-editing job on June 25th, 2020.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p><strong>Tokyo Butterfly<br/>
</strong>- a <em>Persona 5</em> fan novel -<br/>
by<br/>
The One True Nobody</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It occurred to him that his chances were best if he did nothing at all,<br/>
if he just stepped out of it and let events run their course.</p><p>But he <em>could</em> disrupt them.<br/>
He <em>could</em> get a signal out from inside the building.<br/>
He <em>could</em> force them to direct their attention to him,<br/>
or whatever they thought he was.</p><p>He had that going for him.</p><p>— Chapter 6, <em>Nothing Lasts Forever<br/>
</em>by Roderick Thorp</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker."</p><p>— John McClane, <em>Die Hard</em></p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>- Prologue -<br/>
"A Fly in the Ointment"</strong>
</p>
<hr/><p><strong>W</strong>hen Kyo Morinaga opened the passenger-side door of her mother's car, she felt as if she could breathe again.</p><p>It wasn't as if she hated her mother. On the contrary, things had been... a lot more civil between the two of them since the divorce. It seemed her father had been the source of <em>most</em> of her mother's inflexibility up until now. The problem was that it had only been about two months since they had said their goodbyes to Akio Morinaga and Osaka. At this point, neither mother nor daughter was sure where things stood between them yet, or even where they wanted them to stand.</p><p>Eri Morinaga sat in the driver's seat of the sleek aqua Toyota that had been willingly signed over to her by her ex-husband. She remained where she was for a few seconds with hands rested on the steering wheel, taking a few stealthy deep breaths as if it were her here to take Shujin Academy's entrance and placement exam rather than her teen daughter.</p><p>Kyo supposed she understood her mother's nervousness, but really, tests had never been a problem for Kyo, and Eri knew it. Kyo didn't even know why her mother and everyone else had always gotten on her case about studying for the silly things. Whenever she needed to take a test, the information was easy enough to pluck out of her memory of this or that class lecture, even if she'd only been half-paying-attention at the time. Really, it was no big deal. She usually made the upper half of the class rankings, even. Why bother trying so hard just to get higher on an arbitrary list when she could coast through the day and still do what she needed to make the graduation requirements?</p><p>Well, her mom had been better about pestering her lately, so maybe she was just worried that not pressuring Kyo to excel would be the difference between getting in and needing to apply at another school. Was it just another mom thing, then? Maybe, Kyo thought. It was a new experience, not looking at her mother's actions through the tinted lens that had colored Kyo's perception of her mom before the incident... a product of Kyo's own imagination and a skewed understanding of the world, she now knew.</p><p>The green-haired girl took her phone out and glanced at the lock screen, which told her it was about twelve noon, March 28th. Provided she passed whatever <em>passed</em> for an entrance exam in this place of <em>alleged</em> learning, she'd be attending her senior year at Shujin when first semester began in a matter of days. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she allowed herself a thin smile and shook her head.</p><p>This school would work for her about as well as anywhere else. As long as she wasn't in Osaka anymore, with all of the memories and regrets Kyo connected to the place, Shujin Academy could have been a wooden shack in a grassy field staffed by Ichabod Crane for all she cared—she would have still taken the chance to leave all of that behind for good.</p><p>"Well," said Eri, turning the key in the ignition. The car's purring engine went quiet, and she slipped the key into her purse. "Let's go win you some academic excellence."</p><p>"That's what they tell me's sold here," Kyo deadpanned, her eyes going as flat as her voice as she surveyed the narrow walk they'd parked in front of.</p><p>Like many establishments in Tokyo, it seemed Shujin was crammed into some godforsaken wall-to-wall urban cluster of narrow pedestrian streets. Kyo often envied Americans for all the open space their urban planners had to work with. She'd only been in Tokyo for about a month and while she was a city girl by nature, she still wasn't quite used to how packed in everything was here even by Japanese standards.</p><p>She glanced sidelong back at her mother, and remarked, "You never did say why you were so keen on me applyin' to this one in particular. Does it have bagels on Monday mornings, or somethin'?"</p><p>Eri, a woman with shoulder-length, neatly-cut hair, stepped out of the car and straightened her classy-looking skirt, every bit the image of a prim mother in her thirties. Her hair was something between a brown and a blonde shade, which next to Kyo's fir-tree-green hair made her look like the long-suffering mother of a delinquent punk. The truth was the opposite. Both the woman and her daughter were genetically cursed with unnatural-looking green hair, and Eri dyed hers to match her parents.</p><p>Kyo suspected that Eri had been adopted, but had never seen the point in prying into it if her mom didn't want to share. She had no idea whether her grandparents had pressured her mom into dyeing her hair to look "normal" or not, as Eri had once forced Kyo to do. But Eri had never left her hair its natural color for as long as Kyo's memory could recall. Probably she'd been anxious of her stern, no-fun-allowed spouse's reaction if she were to ever try.</p><p>Still waiting on an answer, Kyo stepped around the car. Its newly-washed surface reflected her own image in the sun as she passed: a short girl in a boy's Shujin uniform with hands stuffed deep into roomy pants-pockets, head adorned with a boyish mop of green that was almost mullet-like in how gracelessly unkempt she always let it sit. Her right eye was exposed and her left was obscured by a side-swept curtain of the stuff. The result was that students usually mistook her for a boy until they got near enough to notice that she had a bit more going on in the hip and chest areas than even an idiot could mistake for being masculine. She fully expected that someone would get on her case about her punkish look and about her wearing the a boy's uniform before the day was done, and had already decided on anti-bullshit countermeasures.</p><p>The bagel quip had earned her a stern look from her mother and nothing else. As usual, the stick up her butt kept her from engaging in any banter. Reason number one why civility was the best they'd managed to achieve so far. Kyo sighed and fell into step to the right of her mother as they made their way down the alley, climbing alongside her up the front steps of the large school building they came upon a short way in.</p><p>"So?" Kyo prompted as they drew level with the front door. "Why Shujin? Am I bein' charged with indecent exposure o' my comic shelf? That <em>Sex Criminals</em> graphic novel wasn't mine, I swear! Never seen it before, officer. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!"</p><p>Even Eri had to crack a smile at that one. The school's name was such obvious bad pun material that Kyo would be very surprised if she went a week of classes without someone cracking the same kind of joke at lunch or something. To top off the barrel of laughs, the school's emblem looked a little little like a police badge. Her mom still didn't take the cue to banter, though. What a disappointing parent she was.</p><p>"I just thought it would be nice if you had at least one person to talk to on your first day," Eri said, with an earnestness Kyo rarely heard from her. Kyo cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head. Eri, glancing at her in time to catch this dubious expression, brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and added: "You have a cousin... well, I mean, I have a niece, sort of, who attends school here. Haru-chan, Kunikazu-kun's daughter. She's close to your age. You might have an easier time here with her help, I thought."</p><p>Kunikazu...? Kyo stopped, hand outstretched and holding one of the long line of entry doors open in front of her face. Her eyes immediately went flat, an ocular version of deadpan exasperation that Kyo wore on her face all too often.</p><p>Eri Morinaga: maiden name, Okumura. Her probably-adoptive parents were related to the CEO of a food company. That would be Kunikazu Okumura, president of Okumura Foods, which meant <em>Haru-chan</em> was the pampered daughter of the much-maligned corporate overlord behind the Big Bang Burger fast food chain.</p><p>Fucking fantastic.</p><p>"I don't get along with the snooty rich types," said Kyo dully. Eri, who had taken a few steps further, faltered a bit. But she immediately dug in her metaphorical heels by pushing the door Kyo had been holding so that it was now fully open, nudging her daughter with an elbow to get her moving again.</p><p>"Don't be ridiculous. Haru-chan is the nicest young woman I've ever met."</p><p>"Everyone you know is nicer t' you than t' me," Kyo pointed out without a change in expression. "<em>You</em> don't give 'em reason t' be snooty at ya. You don't even talk like an Osaka gal 'cause you don't want anyone stereotypin' ya."</p><p>"You could stand to rein your own quirks in a little too, you know," Eri said. "Society doesn't reward obstinate individuality."</p><p>Kyo noted that her mom's jaw looked a bit tight, like she was barely resisting the urge to grit her teeth and grunt out her words through them in her frustration. Kyo would have argued the point two months ago, but now that she understood her mother's motivations better... she didn't really want to get into another argument with her. She bit back her retort and instead answered with a dismissive huff.</p><p>Deadpan eyes returned to simple boredom as she tilted her head around, taking in the look of the place. A few people passed them by on their way to the left or right wings of the classroom building. One girl who looked like a newly-minted senior student turned her head to gawk openly at Kyo's hair, but Kyo didn't bother acknowledging this. The school was mostly empty, with only a few people visiting it to deal with this or that pre-school-year piece of business.</p><p>A muscular man with the most phenomenal chin Kyo had ever seen stood nearby the unoccupied glass-window counter just past the lockers (was that the school shop, Kyo wondered?). Upon seeing them he gave Eri a friendly, charming grin. Kyo stopped a half-second before her mother did and blinked exactly once. Not only did he have a chin worthy of mother-humping <em>Timmverse Batman</em>, he had a curly mop up top that wouldn't have been out of place in an an old American high school sitcom.</p><p>His eyes flitted to Kyo briefly and his charming grin faltered. As her eyes met his, Kyo grinned a grin that was just barely sarcastic enough that he'd probably be trying to figure out if it was genuine or not. He held her gaze for just long enough that she could see that she had succeeded in prompting this question in his brain, and then his attention turned back to Eri.</p><p><em>Yep, he's already jumpin' to conclusions about me,</em> Kyo thought. But she didn't know enough about who he was to have any idea whether it'd be trouble for her down the line. He looked like he probably taught phys ed, so how high could his standing in the school possibly be?</p><p>"You must be Morinaga-san," the man said, the smile back on at full force. "My name is Suguru Kamoshida. I'll be showing you and your daughter to the principal's office and to the testing room after that. We only have a few late applicants, so it's just your daughter today."</p><p>Kyo looked sidelong at her mother. Eri's lips had subtly curved down, an expression swiftly hidden as Chin introduced himself.</p><p>
  <em>Aha! She noticed it, too. You're a chip off the old block after all, mom! Or should that be the other way around? ...Whatever.</em>
</p><p>Eri nonetheless bent into a polite half-bow. She spoke with her usual air of elegant politeness, which made damn certain that the man didn't know that he'd already lost points with her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kamoshida-san," she said. "I'm looking forward to learning about what Shujin Academy has to offer for my daughter's future."</p><p>Kamoshida of the Hero's Chin waved Eri off. "There's no need to be so formal, Morinaga-san, it makes me feel old. You can call me by my first name, if you like." He turned and gestured to indicate that the two of them should follow him down the halls, and so they did as he continued to speak. "Shujin Academy is a school with a fine reputation and a first-class staff of teachers. Anyone who excels here pretty much has their pick of Japan's top universities. Our name carries enough weight to sink a cruise ship! Even the President of Okumura Foods has trusted us with his child's education."</p><p>"Yeah, so I've heard," Kyo said casually. "Haru's sorta my cousin. It's how we found out about this place. High recommendations, y'know."</p><p>Eri looked momentarily dumbstruck by Kyo's interruption, but Kamoshida didn't notice this because his attention snapped to Kyo. The utterly gobsmacked face that betrayed him before he managed to hide it was <em>definitely </em>worth throwing him that little curve ball. Now he didn't know what to think about her, Kyo knew, and it sent her into a fit of silent, internal giggling as she wondered what his attitude would be once he processed it. Would he kiss up to her? That would just be the funniest goddamn thing.</p><p>"Is that right?" Kamoshida said. "Well, that's certainly a surprise..."</p><p>"She doesn't look the type?" Eri probed. There was understated, but definite, challenge in her tone.</p><p>Kamoshida stopped outside a door. Kyo's eyes lingered on the nameplate that marked it as the principal's office. Kobayakawa? Like the samurai clan? Psh. What a mouthful. But then Kyo remembered a certain samurai history nerd back home whose fanatical blabbering was the reason she had connected the name to history at all. A lead weight dropped on her heart like a cartoon anvil, a whiplash halt to her thoughts; her mood darkened on contact with it. She had to wrench her attention back to the present to refocus on Kamoshida's reply.</p><p>"I didn't think anyone related to the Okumura family would dye their hair," Kamoshida was saying, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I apologize. I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I'm sure no one will give her any trouble over it, though."</p><p>The volume of his voice had gone up and he was opening the door as he spoke. Kyo snorted under her breath. Oh, it was that kind of school, was it? Kamoshida wasn't apologizing to Eri, not really. He was trying to stealthily alert Principal Kobayakawa so there wouldn't be another <em>faux pas</em> when she entered the room. Which meant this was most definitely an executive faculty of ass-kissers and ass-kissees. Joy of joys. Let the eyes roll out of their sockets and down the road, down the road, down the road...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Her meeting with the bald, overweight principal passed in a blur of fake pleasantry and then she followed Kamoshida to the room where she was to take the placement test, leaving her mother behind to speak with Kobayakawa. After that, she and her mother enjoyed some food in the cafeteria (it wasn't bad, as school food went) while her test was fast-tracked through the grading process (they really <em>were</em> kissing up!). At last she was told that the test-giver would be her new homeroom teacher. Definitely the highlight of the afternoon, finding out that she'd have to spend the year under the eye of a man who seemed to have a stick up <em>his</em> rear end fit to make the one in her mom's behind look like a Q-tip by comparison.</p><p>No one even bothered to tell her that she needed to wear the girls' uniform, let alone to get on her case about her "dyed" hair. Kyo didn't know whether to be relieved that she'd been spared that hassle, or annoyed that her plan to trick them into letting her wear the boys' uniform had gone to waste.</p><p>When all of the introductions were over with and the papers filled out, Kamoshida walked them back to the front gate. He didn't seem like such a bad guy, even if the way he'd made a point to warn Kobayakawa that she was, what, royalty or something? ...whatever... even if that had put a bit of a black mark on her first impression of him.</p><p>At least he seemed laid-back enough that she could maybe get along with the guy. Since phys ed was Kyo's favorite subject, that was what really mattered. It was good to know that she could spend a year talking to the guy regularly without wanting to Falcon Punch him and his stupid chin all the way to fucking Tokushima — like she'd wanted to with her last P.E. coach, the condescending prick.</p><p>Kamoshida was regaling her mother with more of Shujin's undoubtedly fascinating history of producing outstanding members of society (it was some hospital director named Oyamada that he was blithering about now) when Kyo decided to cut in and ask about something that was actually useful:</p><p>"So, Kamoshida-sensei. Is it sensei, or is it Coach?"</p><p>Kamoshida laughed. "Coach," he said.</p><p>"Coach? Ooh, then you're defs the one t' ask."</p><p>Eri looked quizzically at Kyo, who was rolling her shoulders in a way that made her look like a very small, petite wrestler stepping out of the ring after an easy fight.</p><p>"I'm an exercisin' kinda gal," Kyo said. "And I know senior year's late for it, but I was thinkin', like, is there an openin' in one o' the girls' sports teams? I need an extracurricular activity that'll really make me <em>sweat</em>."</p><p>Kamoshida's smile vanished, replaced by blank surprise. But then he grinned a grin that said her question was a lucky break he wasn't expecting the moment before. Kyo got her answer for why that was just a moment later.</p><p>"As it happens, I'm coach of the school's volleyball teams," he said. Kyo was caught off-guard by that, for the first time in the evening.</p><p>"Both teams?" Eri asked, clearly impressed. A moment later Kyo blurted out, "Girls' <em>and</em> Boys'?"</p><p>Kamoshida laughed a good-natured laugh as they passed through the front gate.</p><p>"I get that reaction a lot," he said jovially. "But as I was about to say, a few members of the Girls' Volleyball Team graduated this month. So we do have openings. If you're good enough to make a splash at tryouts, you might just take one."</p><p>He glanced around, then leaned in with an apologetic look and put a hand to one side of his mouth in the universal gesture for <em>I don't want anyone to overhear me saying this.</em></p><p>"It's not a politically correct observation, so forgive me for saying this..." said Kamoshida, "but our school has high athletic standards, and it's a bit harder to find young girls who can take the pressure. So if you think you've already got that kind of edge, I'd put money on getting in."</p><p>Kyo took this in, turning it over and considering the possibilities. High athletic standards, huh? She did know that the sports teams at her previous schools were more of the blasé casual kind, only ever really standing out when a natural talent or two happened to shine for a while and carry the team through their games. It would be interesting to see how she could measure up to her teammates in a sport when the heat was on, really <em>on</em>, though! Was volleyball the one she wanted to try, though? One school year wasn't much of a window for haphazard experimentation.</p><p>And in truth, volleyball was one of those sports that Kyo had never taken very seriously... not half as much as, say, tennis or something. Then again, maybe that was pop culture bias talking. Still, if she had a choice—</p><p>"I don't s'pose this school has a girls' boxin' team?" she asked hopefully.</p><p>Kamoshida's eyes went wide as saucers. Eri shook her head and huffed, expressing her disapproval of the question in the only way a mother who had long since run out of words could.</p><p>"Absolutely not," Kamoshida said. "We don't even have a boy's team anymore. The powers that be determined it would just encourage male students to violence, so it was disbanded a couple of years ago. But we never had a girls' team to begin with. What teenage girl wants to make boxing their after-school routine?"</p><p>Kyo's eyes went deadpan. "That's not 'xactly politically correct t' say, either," she said blandly. "But okay. If fightin' ain't an option, volleyball might be a good one for me. I'll give it a think and keep an eye on the notice board for tryouts. Thanks, Coach!"</p><p>"I'll be seeing you in P.E. one way or another, since I handle the senior class," Kamoshida said, settling back and nodding. "I hope to see you at tryouts. And Eri-san, if she does decide to join the volleyball team, I think it would be good if you and I can confer about your daughter's schedule. My volleyball team is a fast track to an athletic scholarship, you know. So it would be in the interests of her future to get the most she can out of it."</p><p>His tone struck Kyo as a teeny bit canoodling now, and she had to fight back a defensive bristle before she even had a chance to make sense of that. Had Kamoshida been trying to <em>imply</em> something, or was her imagination just getting the better of her? The hope that Kyo was going crazy seemed harder to cling to when her mother's answer came with that same subtle tone of challenge and warning that Eri had employed earlier, suggesting that she had noticed the same thing.</p><p>"Maybe it would, but that's for Kyo-chan to decide. I'll talk with her before I speak with you."</p><p>Kyo couldn't stop her head from snapping around to stare at her mother. It was the second time in as many minutes that something had caught her off guard. Her mother had just said that... that...</p><p>"Of course," Kamoshida said easily. "I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I just wanted to assure you that it would be worth cutting into her study time for it. A lot of parents worry about that in senior year, because of entrance exams. If I had five yen for every time a student has asked me to talk to their mother or father about what volleyball could do for their future prospects! Since you're here now, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of her options."</p><p>Eri nodded. "I'll take it under advisement," she said, inscrutably polite. "Thank you for your assistance today, Suguru-san. We had better get going now, though. I'd like to get on the road before rush hour, so that I can prepare dinner on time."</p><p>Kyo had to admire her mother's calm attitude in the face of... whatever Kamoshida had just been doing. Maybe he really had just been making sure a student's mother knew what was what. It wasn't like she lived in a thriller manga, where every little gesture and expression had to have absolute meaning—this wasn't a frickin' episode of <em>Death Note </em>or something.</p><p>The incident had left Kyo paranoid as all the hells, though, and even now she got into weird hyper-analytical fits like this. It was her way; in response to stress, Kyo's brain just went into full-force overdrive. Sometimes it was helpful. Most of the time, though, it went absolutely fucking nowhere.</p><p>Kamoshida smiled, though he seemed to have been discomforted by Eri's deliberately cordial response. He waved his hand at Eri, nodded in farewell to Kyo, and said, "Drive safely then, Morinaga-san. And I look forward to your decision, Kyo-san!"</p><p>He turned and strolled comfortably right back through the gates. Kyo watched him climb the stairs to the front doors of the school, whistling a bland tune to himself that he'd probably heard on his car radio. When he was out of sight, she turned to lock eyes with her mother.</p><p>"It's for me t' decide, huh?" she echoed, her voice quiet and... damn her treacherous vocal chords, it sounded sentimentally grateful even to her own ears.</p><p>Eri, who had half-turned to walk back to the car already, paused and looked back at her daughter. At first nonplussed, she nonetheless seemed to catch on to what this meant to Kyo. Her eyes softened.</p><p>"Yes," she answered, face and voice both gentle now. "It's for you to decide. Just, Kyo-chan, please. For your own sake <em>and</em> for my peace of mind... try to think of your own future seriously for a change. This is your senior year. You won't be able to just float along with the flow like you've been doing up until now. I don't want you to regret this year when you're establishing yourself as an adult. That's all."</p><p>Kyo's facial expressions had remained mostly within the spectrum that existed between boredom and exasperation up to this point. But she couldn't help letting a smile take control of her facial muscles just now. Maybe <em>civil</em> wasn't the best she and her mother could manage, after all. She nodded, suddenly willing to try to do what her mother had told her to do for the first time in a long time. Tilting her head down as she got moving so that her hair obscured her traitorous eyes more effectively, Kyo set off for the car in front of her mother.</p><p>"Thanks, mom," she whispered, so quiet that she knew it would go unheard. Her mother's footsteps resumed behind her. Kyo lifted a hand as if to scratch her nose as a cover for thumbing a bit of gathering moisture from her eyelashes.</p><p>
  <em>"Let's go win me some academic excellence," y'say? Well... I guess I can give it the ol' college try. A little bit o' cram school never killed anyone.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Eternity rippled endlessly with a million what-ifs and the what-ifs attached to them, a million and another million for every micro-instant that played out. A being sat behind a desk, surrounded by the bars of the prison cells that comprised the bulk of this <em>Room</em>, the Room that reflected his Trickster's soul. Soon it would be time to call him here, but not yet. Nevertheless, he continued to observe the wheels that were in motion. Timeless eternity's many ripples continued to produce intriguing results, lives touching lives and those lives touching more lives in turn, with causes and effects both good and bad in infinite mixtures. An ordered mandala of infuriating chaos. It was horrifying and beautiful all at the same time.</p><p>Yet, he mused, for all of this infinity there was only one destination. It was as if the expanse of time were a funnel, leading all to the same conclusion:</p><p>Ruin.</p><p>A specific ripple crossed his awareness, passing into the sphere of events that his Trickster would soon become embroiled in. Beneath a long nose, his smile widened. How interesting the game was shaping up to be.</p><p>He pondered this new element for the long stretch of an instant, and nodded to himself. Yes, she would make for an effective dose of yet more chaos. The truth of human desire might become all the clearer before the end if he encouraged her involvement. The entity closed his eyes and reached out with his will. The next time she unlocked her mobile phone, she would see the key to her destiny occupying its "Home" screen along with the device's other applications.</p><p>How would she respond to the Metaverse Navigator, he wondered, and how long would it take her to discover its true function? The next few days would certainly be interesting to observe.</p><p>But it would be some time until she had a chance to affect the course of things again. For now, other matters required the lion's share of his attention.</p><p>The awareness which sat on the knife's edge between dreams and reality shifted his gaze away, for the time being. Even so, he looked forward to seeing how this would alter the Journey that his Trickster was destined to embark upon in the coming weeks. What would the state of the board and its pieces be when at last they started their "game?" Only the passage of time would reveal the answer to that question...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 1-1: One Weird Girl's Very Weird Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>When an ordinary person finds a mysterious app on their smartphone and doesn't remember installing it, their instinct is to delete the shit out of it to protect their phone. When Kyo Morinaga finds a mysterious app on her smartphone and doesn't remember installing it, her instinct is to work out how it ticks—she can always buy another phone.</p><p>Some people just have different wiring upstairs, you know?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am currently in the process of editing this chapter, scene-by-scene, as I find the time. I will replace this note when the process is complete.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>- PART ONE -<br/>"Obsession"</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"The reason I talk to myself is because I'm the only one whose answers I accept."</p><p>— George Carlin</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter One -<br/>"One Weird Girl's Very Weird Day"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>F</strong>ist met alarm clock. Gently. Kyo wasn't the type to wreck her alarm clocks when they woke her up, after all. She was quite the enthusiastic morning person, and prided herself on that trait.</p><p>But she had learned through experimentation, well... that motion, swinging her arm in a wide arc and smacking the snooze button to shut off the "Bridge of Khazad-dûm" music that blared at her every morning? It was a fantastic little aerobic jolt to her system. So she'd worked it it into her routine over the last year or so's worth of early mornings. Now it was more or less a reflex.</p><p>Alarm properly silenced, Kyo arched her back. Lifting her pelvis off the mattress and letting the soft fleece blanket slide off her shorts-and-tank-top-clad form, she stretched and groaned at the sensation. The rumble of her own vocal chords vibrating from throat to chest was another good wake-up cue. Like a whip, then, she lashed her whole body foot-ward: throwing off what blanket hadn't already fallen away, Kyo launched herself into a Spider-Man crouch in the middle of the bed.</p><p>"Good <em>mooooornin'</em>, Yongen-Jaya!" she crowed to her empty bedroom, laughing.</p><p>She yanked her feet inward, dropped into an Indian-style sitting position, and thrilled as she always did in the way the mattress bounced like a trampoline in response to her two rapid-fire landings. Reaching up with her left hand, she slowly rolled her neck in a circle, closing her eyes... then opened them, looking to her right. A black-framed full-body mirror stood in the corner.</p><p>It was Kyo's sole substitute for a vanity, since she really couldn't be half-assed to bother with morning make-up things. Or with cosmetics in general, for that matter. She wasn't exactly all gung-ho anti-feminine-stuff anymore, the way she'd been as a stupid-in-the-head high school freshman. But even now she just could not picture herself wearing either a skirt <em>or</em> make-up. The mental image just clanged in her brain as <em>Wrong! Wrong! Wrooooooooong!</em></p><p>She swiveled on the bed and swung her legs over the side of it. As another part of her morning routine, she admired herself in the mirror for just a moment. Kyo's fitness philosophy could have been accurately summed up as something like: <em>Vanity, thy name is abdominal muscles. </em>In the short-shorts and loose, spaghetti-strap top that comprised her sleepwear, she could see those well-defined abs peeking out, and had a full view of her own adequately feminine but pretty well-hardened thighs. Her arms were even developing some pretty impressive-looking muscles!</p><p>Though that latest development was still in its toddlerhood, so to say. Kyo's first objective today would be to find herself an affordable gym. There had to be a good one at a good price point <em>somewhere</em> in Shibuya. Kyo interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms out in front of her, then over her head, eyes still on the mirror as the motion caused her back to arch alluringly again.</p><p><em>Yep,</em> she thought. <em>I am a sexy beast. To hell with dudes who're grossed-out by chicks with muscle.</em></p><p>So, hopping to her feet, she looked around her new bedroom. It looked like it might have belonged to a boy if that boy happened to really like dark purple paint on his walls. There was a shelf full of comics, Blu-Rays, and video games against the wall on one side of her bed, within easy reach if she wanted to read a comic before sleeping. On the opposite side of the bed, a good bedroom-sized flatscreen TV stood proudly with a PlayStation 4 Pro set up beneath it. Kyo's old GameCube console plugged into its GameBoy Player sat upon the faux-hardwood floor beside the TV stand.</p><p>A desk and chair stood against the wall near the foot of the bed, occupied by a small lamp, laptop computer, and plugged-in mobile phone. Posters of various superheroes, movie characters, and other faces from pop culture littered the wall; mostly they featured Western pop culture items with a dash of domestic influence in the form of characters from the <em>better</em> examples of home-grown games and anime. They were arranged in an eclectic sprawl without rhyme or reason, the likes of Batgirl and Avatar Korra mingled with John McClane, Samus Aran, Kamen Rider Double, and the Elric Brothers. Pretty much she'd just put them up as she acquired them back home, wherever she could find room. She'd grown to like the rowdy look it gave her walls so much that she'd just emulated the effect when she'd chosen where to place them in this new apartment.</p><p>Possibly the only not-quite-boyish thing about the room was its lack of obvious cheesecake posters or cute-girl pop idols. One might have expected something in the way of a poster featuring a sexy, shirtless male... but there was none of that, either. It wasn't as if Kyo was a prude (just the opposite!). But her parents were quite proper and refined in their sense of what girls should be like. Not wanting to cause more headaches for herself, Kyo just kept that kind of stuff in a discreet folder among the files on her laptop.</p><p>This new bedroom was already a familiar enough sight to her. But it felt new all the same and something about the way things had gone when her mom had taken her to deal with Shujin's placement test...</p><p>It was hard to put the feeling down to a coherent thought. But yesterday felt like it had injected yet more of that sense of <em>newness</em> into their recent living situation. She and her mom had been living in this apartment for a number of weeks, though. Some rich uncle had pulled a string or two to get Eri a well-enough-paying job that she could afford a place on her income alone. Come to think of it, would that have been Mr. Corporate Overlord Kunikazu Okumura-sama who'd done that? Hm. Now that it had occurred to her, Kyo made a mental note to ask her mother about it at some point.</p><p>But she had set her alarm for ten-thirty today. No need for a super-early wake-up when the start of the school year was still a few days off!</p><p>Her mom would be at work now. Apparently she was pretty good at engineering design, so she was working a respectable job for Kirijo Construction Solutions, a subsidiary of a larger company that was headquartered elsewhere but retained an important branch in Tokyo. Apparently this little newgrown tentacle of the Kirijo Group machine had been acquired via merger over the last year and was still trying to consolidate solid talent among its workforce. Eri's job involved designing tools and components or some such... it hadn't been a job that Kyo would have pictured her in... but then, as far as Kyo knew her mother'd spent most of her life in Osaka as a full-time housewife.</p><p>Lately it was dawning on Kyo that she knew too damn little about her own damn mom, which chafed like nothing else.</p><p>Once she'd gotten dressed—in brown cargo pants and a black, purple-dotted tube top with a vibrant purple butterfly emblazoned across the chest—she pulled on green-laced black boots and a pair of fingerless biker gloves. If Kobayakawa ever got wind of what she wore when school was out, Kyo mused in front of the mirror, his obviously lax attitude toward his own health would probably catch up with him on the spot in the form of a stroke or heart attack. Which of those two was more likely for an obese dude? Ah, whatever. It would be funny, either way.</p><p>She spent an hour playing <em>Ultra Street Fighter IV</em> online to kick her brain into gear. In that time she achieved a respectable eight-wins-and-six-losses alternating between Cammy and Makoto. Once she'd had her fill of that, Kyo decided to head out for some curry at that place down the way before she got her day started for realsies.</p><p>Kyo pulled her black biking jacket (sadly it wasn't made of <em>real</em> leather) off the hook by the front door on the way out, eyes sweeping the apartment as she slid arms into sleeves. The apartment was pretty small: just a room for her, a room for her mom, and a main sitting-area-slash-kitchen-thing with a TV in the corner. Plus obligatory bathroom and shower. But for the two of them living alone, it was perfect. Kyo had expressed surprise that her mom hadn't gone for something more roomy or extravagant, to which Eri had simply said that she wanted to save up for a while and aim for a small house after Kyo graduated. The lower rent this apartment charged would make that possible.</p><p>A sound plan, Kyo had to admit. She'd been worried that Eri wouldn't know how to live independently at all, because she'd been married while still college-age and had leaned on a breadwinner husband ever since. But the old lady was smarter about these things than Kyo had given her credit for. It was encouraging to know that. Then again, a traditional housewife in Japan usually was in charge of managing all the money... it was just one more reason that Kyo wasn't interested in becoming one of those herself. But she had to wonder if she'd ever meet a guy in Japan that wasn't looking for all the traditional wifey things in his long-term partner.</p><p>Ah well. An insecurity to unpack another day, she decided, and shut the door behind her.</p><p>Kyo had to descend three flights of stairs before she emerged into the narrow maze of alleys that comprised Yongen-Jaya, the district they'd moved into two months before when they'd still been sleeping at a motel. It was at once a cluttered mess and a warm place to live; Kyo had taken a real shine to it, not least because there were batting cages right nearby and, of course, because spicy food was totally Kyo's jam and she was now all of a minute's walk away from some of the best curry she'd had in a good-long time.</p><p>"Heeeeeeey, Sakura-san!"</p><p>That was her greeting as she pushed open the door to Café Leblanc. And as if she owned the place, she strolled right on over to the bar and hopped onto one of the wooden chairs line up in front of it, turning it around backwards so she could lean over the backboard. Kyo paid no heed to the annoyed look that one of the conversing old-timers in the far booth shot her, instead swinging her arms shamelessly over the back of the chair and resting her chin on her forearms.</p><p>The man who ran this joint was a middle-aged-going-on-geezer of a man with glasses and a pretty sick pointed beard. He was hard at work stirring curry in a tiny kitchen space that was snugly jammed into the rear of restaurant behind the bar and television, in an alcove to the right side of all the coffee-bean jars.</p><p>It was a warm, homey kind of restaurant. Sojiro Sakura's expression did not reflect that warmth when he saw who it was that had just barreled into the café without any kind of decorum whatsoever. If anything, he looked like he'd been hoping not to see Kyo today, the old grump. Silly him, since she came here almost every day for either lunch or dinner. Kyo bit back a laugh at the look that crossed his face before he assumed his professional demeanor.</p><p>"Kyo-san," he said. "Your mother's not here with you? Ah, she'd be at work. So will it be the usual?"</p><p>Sojiro had subtly hit on Eri for a little while after they'd moved in, or at the very least, been playfully charming toward her. Kyo would say "subtly" as a kindness to his attempts at grace. It was obvious what he was doing. Eri's polite replies had carried a certain undercurrent of apology, as if she would have quite liked to flirt right back if only she wasn't so fresh out of a failed marriage. Sojiro, it transpired, was good at picking up signals. He had eased off as soon as he realized it was turning Eri's thoughts down a melancholy road. After that rocky start, however, Eri and Sojiro had become sort of friends, and Eri regularly stopped by Leblanc to chat with him over coffee on her way home from work.</p><p>Kyo had been present for only a few of those conversations, not being all that crazy for coffee. It was good that he was taking the hint and keeping a few two-liters of Coke under the counter now, though. This was the only tell Sojiro had given in-between all of the gruffness that he had kind of taken a shine to Eri's daughter, too.</p><p>In answer to his routine question she said, "Yep," and turned her eyes to the television in the corner. That didn't hold her attention for very long at all—it was some kind of silly game show. So she turned back to the man to watch him cook. He seemed to know exactly what to do at exactly what moment, muscle memory seeming to carrying him through the process as much as his brain-memory did. It was almost like watching a digital artist speed-draw a portrait of a character on livestream, something that Kyo had always found to be an oddly relaxing, mesmerizing way to unravel her nerves after a rough day at school.</p><p>"Say, Sakura-san," Kyo decided to ask. "I don't suppose you've got an openin' for any part-timers? Oh, uh—I know you prolly can't afford one. It's just I'd really like t' learn how t' make curry the way you do. Figured I could trade help for some lessons."</p><p>Sojiro hesitated with his hand above the pot, at the point of adding some kind of seasoning to it that Kyo was too far away to identify.</p><p>"Ah, sorry," he said abruptly, now genuinely uncomfortable. That was interesting. "I just took on a part-timer, so there's no room for any more. Besides, this recipe's a trade secret."</p><p>He regained some of his professional air of humor as he added this second excuse, one he often gave to customers asking him how he made such delicious curry. Kyo huffed and rolled her eyes, exaggerating her disappointment.</p><p>"I'm not gonna be openin' any restaurants, y'know!" she said, then froze. "Oh. Right. My cousins are the Okumuras. Fuck <em>damn</em>, but I keep forgettin' that."</p><p>Sojiro added his ingredients, stirred, and stepped back. Evidently it was time for a hands-off minute of simmering.</p><p>"Okumura as in Okumura Foods?" he asked.</p><p>Actual interest bled through his facade of detached friendliness now. He must have been more interested than he let on, because he completely forgot to tell Kyo off for using obscene language in front of his customers. She was a little surprised that her mother hadn't told him this yet. Kyo replied with a shrug. She was glad for an excuse to engage him in some real conversation for once. She liked Sojiro Sakura, so it was frustrating that he seemed to keep her at arm's length in a way he didn't with her mom.</p><p>"Yeah, mom's parents are like, the CEO's sister and her husband, or somethin'," she said. "It never mattered much t' me until I went over t' Shujin for the exam yesterday. Seems like the staff sees that as so important that they're willing to ignore me dressin' like a boy and havin' natural swamp-goblin green for the curtains and drapes. Frickin' kiss-ups."</p><p>Sojiro chuckled quietly, but aborted the sound before it could carry and put fist over his mouth as if covering a cough. "I have customers who don't want to hear that kind of vulgarity while they eat, Kyo-kun," he said. "You'll be attending Shujin for the year, you say? If that's the case, I might have a job for you after all."</p><p>Kyo cocked an eyebrow. Sojiro didn't appear to notice that he'd slipped and referred to her a bit more casually than normal. He also didn't elaborate. She figured this was something he wanted to discuss in private, so she just said, "Alright, whenever you're ready, shoot. Is that in exchange for curry-cookin' lessons? More valuable t' me than money at this point, since I'm gonna be livin' on my own for a while before I even think o' marryin'."</p><p>"Wouldn't you still need to know how to cook if you <em>wanted</em> to move in with a guy?" Sojiro asked with a bit of long-suffering amusement. "You're not going to find many young men who want to play house-husband, you know."</p><p>He moved to the fridge and extracted a bottle of soda while he talked, then smoothly stepped to one side and opened the cabinet where the regular, non-coffee cups were.</p><p>"I'm always on the hunt for mythical creatures," Kyo said seriously. "I won't rest until I find a young stud <em>just</em> like you, Sakura-san: an <em>incubus</em> chef with a <em>sexy</em> beard, who can do all my cookin' for me."</p><p>Sojiro <em>really</em> had to work to cover his "cough" this time. Ah, but she'd chip through that wall of ice yet. He poured her a soda and kept his face determinedly neutral as he slid the glass along the bar toward her. She caught it in her hand like a round of beer at the pub.</p><p>But the jingling of the cafe door alerted them to other customers entering, the start of the lunch-hour rush. So that was it for heckling the barista, at least for now.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Sojiro's special recipe was as good as ever. Kyo paid in cash. As he handed the change over, Sojiro told her he'd ask her to come back at a later date and that he'd have a job for her to do then. What this had to do with her attending Shujin Academy, Kyo had no clue. But if she didn't like it, she figured she could just bow out. Sojiro seemed like good people, so she doubted it'd be anything weird.</p><p>With a belly full of delicious curry, it was now time for a day out on the town. Kyo hadn't really been in the mood for exploring over the last week or so, and hadn't really gone anywhere exciting even before that. But Shibuya was so well-known that she'd have had to be crazy <em>not</em> to hop a train over there eventually. Now she had her student train pass, which so happened to cover trips to Shibuya by virtue of it being a necessary stop on the way to Shujin! So it was time to strike out into the wild and see what there was to see. Maybe she'd even find one of those mythical "househusband" creatures and claim one for her own while she was at it.</p><p>Eh. A girl could dream.</p><p>Tokyo wasn't much more intimidating to her than Osaka had been, and there had been a time when Kyo had felt more at home out on the streets indulging her random fits of wanderlust than she had when... actually staying at home. Tokyo was different, but in many ways similar. In truth, Kyo found the big city too chaotic for its own good, one of the reasons that she hoped one day to move to America, where there was a more evenly-spaced balance between Big City Living, Small Town Quiet, and The Suburbs That Lay Between. Japan was too centralized around its cities, and that meant too many people felt obligated to live in or near them. It also had a problem with young people not having enough kids and the resulting <em>skewed toward old, crusty, approaching-their-expiration-dates</em> population was a pain in the neck to live with. That was another reason she wanted to quit the place. The last thing she needed in her life was a bunch of snooty old-timers shaming her for not wanting to jump right into the process of baking buns in her oven.</p><p>Kyo didn't have a problem with kids, she just didn't see the appeal of personally raising them. Paradoxically, and like most of the human race, she loved the baby-making process when it utterly <em>failed</em> to create one. Thank the zillion-and-a-half Shinto deity-things for the miracle of birth control. Speaking of, she'd need to pay a visit to that clinic back in Yongen and see if she could work something out. The doctor there was a woman with <em>interesting</em> fashion sense, Tae Takemi: Kyo had made casual conversation with her a bit at Leblanc, just the one time she'd seemed receptive to it. Kyo figured it was a good bet that she wouldn't catch any self-righteous lectures from Dr. Takemi about either staying pure or making babies for the good of the Japanese nation if she went to her for that stuff, so...</p><p>...And here was her stop. She'd gotten so lost in the random jumble of her thoughts that she almost couldn't tell whether it had taken far too much time or no time at all.</p><p>Yeah, trains were about as boring in Tokyo as they were in any city, with the added issue of not being able to find a <em>frickin'</em> seat to sit on ninety-nine times out of twenty. Kyo slid out the door of the train between a salaryman and a willowy foreign-looking lady, and stepped out onto the platform at the Shibuya station with an exaggerated deep breath, as if she were bursting out from a deep dive under water. Her hearing, quite keen for individual points of interest in city crowds, caught a chuckle from the willowy woman who'd exited just behind her.</p><p>It was good to know that indulging in spontaneous displays of minor visual comedy could brighten the day for a random stranger or two, you know, just here and there, now and again...</p><p>...But yeah, trains were boring and her brain ran off on random tangents when she was bored and had no one to talk to. Not that it was any different when she wasn't bored and <em>did</em> have people to talk to. When she did, it was just her <em>mouth </em>running off on tangents, dragging her brain along for the ride. What had she been thinking about? Sex and birth control? Sex: a fun way to spend an hour and an activity that she probably wouldn't motivate herself to engage in for a while. Birth control: medical assistance that she wouldn't actually need to bother with until that former emotional hurdle was conquered. What a constructive train of thought she'd taken, all the way to frickin' Shibuya.</p><p>"Kyo," she said to herself under her breath, "just buy a dildo and call it a one-woman marriage. That way only the battery'll die on you, and that, y'can replace."</p><p>This obnoxious self-recrimination was masked by the yammering of the surrounding crowd. The best place to speak private things out loud was in the middle of a bunch of loud people, she had learned back home. None of them would hear you. Hell, not many of them would even really <em>see </em>you. The oxymoronic thing about crowds was that they were a haven both for people who wanted to talk about sensitive things and people who wanted to overhear those things. No one ever noticed either of them.</p><p>She didn't let herself dwell on her reasons for not wanting to jump back into the boys thing. That would have soured her mood. Her boyfriend had been shot in the head, and the culprit had been justly punished for it: that was that. It had been the sad ending of a long, twisted chain of events that she had no desire to relive either inside her own head or out loud to somebody else. Kyo wasn't the kind of person who moped and internalized, anyway. She drowned her sorrows in adrenaline and excitement instead. And when she got <em>mad</em>, she got <em>even</em>. So, in the interest of that drowning-of-sorrows portion of her personal policy, she had three goals for today:</p><p>First? Find a good gym, as she'd reminded herself to that morning. Nothing cleansed the soul like a hard, hearty workout!</p><p>Second! Locate the arcade. Life was too short to go even a single day more without challenging some cocky wannabe pop-star to a dance-off.</p><p>Third, and the activity that would likely consume most of the afternoon: scope out the immediate Shibuya area. There would be stores, fast food places, restaurants galore, tourist attractions... but what lurked on the fringes? The most interesting events in Kyo's life, both good and bad, had always come from poking her nose into the shadows at the edge of public awareness. Specialist shops, side-alley fortune tellers, those beneath-the-bridge hidey-holes where banchou types hung out smoking and pretending they were hot shit. Stuff like that.</p><p>At one point she'd have taken it further, including as a footnote "hunt down a place that will sell alcohol to a minor." Not cigarettes, of course: Kyo had never seen the appeal of those and she didn't relish the idea of what it might do to her teeth or her breath. But getting drunk? She found she could absolutely see the fun in that.</p><p>As it happened, though, Kyo had resolved to clean up her act on that front even <em>before</em> she'd left Osaka. So it only occurred to her now in a moment of retrospective irony. She would not be hunting for booze this day. But it would be handy to know where it could be acquired by a minor, even so. Information was power. If she was ever in a situation where she was sneaking around, she could misdirect anyone who'd noticed her into thinking she was nothing but another trash delinquent indulging her trash impulses.</p><p>
  <em>Pfffffwahahaha... what?! What the heck, brain?! You crazy.</em>
</p><p>Sometimes even Kyo had to stop and marvel at the compacted, semisolid micro-monsoon that she called a frontal lobe. Another mental tangent, wonder of wonders. It didn't surprise her that she'd already tuned out again, though. The station was a blur of faceless strangers which she would need to dodge and weave through in order to reach the fun part of this trip. So here she was, thinking of beer as if it were a costume prop she could outsmart criminals with, because she had nothing better to think about at the moment. What had even directed her brain toward such crackhead shenanigans? It wasn't as if she were Batgirl, running around rooftops and beating up evildoers in butt-hugging leathers and a fabulous yellow cape.</p><p>Kyo stepped out into the station square, slipping a hand out of her pocket to shade her eyes from sudden, invigorating brightness. Ah, sunlight! That lovely warmth caressing the skin of her face and collarbone. Such a nice feeling. Never got old. It wasn't quite nice enough out to go without her jacket yet, but she'd take what she could get from Mother Nature when she could snag it.</p><p>She skimmed the area with her eyes. People, young and old, milled about their business. Off to the side, a politician went halfway-ignored by passersby in his impassioned rant about the youth of the country being the future or whatever. He was probably a regular piece of background scenery to most of them, like a small waterfall that had be splish-splooshing down a stream in someone's backyard for as long as they'd lived there. Kyo likewise ignored him — that he was preaching out here like this, without ceremony, meant he probably had a candle's chance in a snowstorm of making a real difference, and it wasn't like she could have voted for him even if she did kind of like what he was saying just now.</p><p>So which way from here would take her to all of the <em>cool</em> things that Shibuya had to offer?</p><p>It was only at this point that Kyo whipped out her phone, tapping the button to turn on the lock screen and sliding the tip of her index finger down overtop the middle button at the bottom — the unlabeled black, horizontal bar that was both Home button and fingerprint scanner. It was a nice enough model, a bit out of date but more than enough to serve all the functions of a pocket-computer-phone thing. She did like the fingerprint-unlock function, especially. Quicker than a password, but she still need <em>a password</em> on reboot, so her phone and its questionable Internet history were safe and secure. At least, they were safe from any casual rando who might swipe her phone at school while she wasn't looking.</p><p>...Not so much from malware, she remembered in the next moment.</p><p>Kyo grunted in irritation at the sight of new icon blinking in an empty space she kept in her home screen right beneath the transparent clock widget, a space that was reserved (thank you kindly) for the magnificent right breast of Morrigan Aensland from <em>Darkstalkers</em>, the character proudly displayed as her wallpaper: the color of the anime succubus's flowing hair had made her into Kyo's instant in-game avatar the moment she'd discovered the franchise. Covering up such a magnificent feminine asset would have been a travesty, so why was this brazen little icon doing exactly that? She didn't remember putting it there. Kyo custom-arranged all of the icons on every page of her phone's home screen for maximum exposure, which meant they were mostly lined up along the bottom and right side when they were there at all.</p><p>She frowned at it. It was the left-most, top-most empty space on her Android phone, which meant it was one of those shortcuts that was auto-generated upon the installation of a new app. And she hadn't installed anything new for at least three or four months. She doubted it was malware, either, come to think of it. She didn't use the Internet much on her phone, preferring her laptop for that sort of thing, and when she listened to music or streamed video, it was usually through a dedicated app. Had one of her phone's built-in apps received a major update, maybe? Her eyes flicked to the notification bar at the top. Battery, signal bar, 4G indicator, Wi-Fi... whoops, she'd forgotten to turn that off — and... nope, no icon for a new installation or even any app updates. Weird. She returned her attention to the interloper icon which dared censor the succubus mascot of Kyo's womanly power fantasies.</p><p>The funniest thing about it was the design of the icon itself: a black-on-red design featuring some kind of edgelord eyeball-thing.</p><p>"Rude," Kyo said aloud, pressing her finger to the app icon and holding it so that she could move it to another page. "Eyes up here, ya perv."</p><p>And she slid it over, over, over, past several pages of other shortcuts, until she had popped a whole new empty page into being. Here she stopped and released the icon on a space directly over top of Morrigan's devious, smirking face.</p><p>"There. That's how polite little boys interact with pretty women," she instructed her phone in a righteous Tokyo dialect, an accurate (if haughty) imitation of her mother's. "Even if she <em>was</em> clearly drawn to be ogled there. Fiction is not permission." She paused, tapping her chin as she pondered her own thought-out-loud joke. "Nah, I kid. Ogle away." She slid the app one space down to its previous position over the same breast it had been so in love with before. She couldn't blame it. As the human mammary went, it was some top-tier motorboating equipment, no mistake.</p><p>Snorting to herself and shaking her head, took a moment to mentally construct a squeaky-voiced anime girl in her mind, who administered the sharp mental slap that Kyo surely needed. She figuring this would satisfy her daily quota of moments in which she must re-evaluate her own maturity. <em>Thanks, imaginary anime waifu-friend!</em></p><p>But then, with her urge to indulge in crass humor properly sated, Kyo shifted her attention to satisfying the secondary itch that was curiosity. She tapped the app icon to open it. The phone's screen at once surrendered itself to a strange program that looked like some sort of search-and-navigate app. And as suddenly as that, the whole world went silent around her: the words filtering into her brain from the people around her slowed down and ground to a halt, as did all of the sounds of shoes on pavement, purses rustling against clothes. Even the wind blowing by her ears ceased to tickle her eardrums.</p><p>Kyo blinked, and looked up. Where had all the chattering, yammering faceless people gone? And she had her answer. They were still there. The only things that were gone was the <em>noise</em> and the <em>motion</em>. She nearly dropped her phone in shock at what she was seeing, and rent the silence in half, letting loose with a resounding banshee-shriek of "THE <em>HELL</em>?!" as she staggered backward, nearly falling on her ass in the middle of the square.</p><p>She would have done, had something not propped her up. Her right shoulder blade bumped something immovable and chest-high. Kyo spun around to see that it was a young girl, smiling and holding hands with her mother. She was maybe eleven or twelve years old, and she had frozen mid-walk. So her her mother beside her. Kyo whipped around again, gawking at the soap-box politician, who was likewise in mid-rant suspended animation. Her head yanked itself left, then right. Everyone was frozen in place. The police officer berating a public drunk, frozen. That pair of hot boys and their gremlin-like bottom-feeder friend who was clearly hoping to bask in their reflected attractiveness. The three semi-receptive-looking-or-maybe-just-polite young women they were hitting on. Frozen, all of them.</p><p>Kyo gulped, then stared at the application still displaying on her phone for several seconds. The display of her phone might have been the only thing besides her that wasn't frozen. She had the thought that this was like the cliche opening of some otaku-as-fuck RPG, like <em>Final Fantasy X</em>, maybe.</p><p><strong>"Hi,"</strong> said a voice next to her, clearly amused. That was when an arm draped over her shoulder and Kyo screamed like a little girl.</p><p>Kyo had the fleeting impression of a leanly-muscled arm resting across the back of her jacket as if she and the person who had apparently beamed down from the Starship Enterprise right next to her were the best of bros. Her brain registered inhuman, echoey distortion in the voice that had mockingly greeted her within casual spitting distance of her right ear. And then reflex made her flail and swing her arms, she yanked herself away, whirling to snarl like an animal at the offending man.</p><p>She froze, then, almost as completely as the people around her, forgetting to swing her fist at this idiot's jaw as she had intended, forgetting to <em>breathe</em>. It wasn't a man. The arm's subtle muscular had just given it a rough feeling that reminded her of one.</p><p>The person who stood there, hand on a hip and hip thrust coquettishly to the side, grinning... was herself, or someone that looked exactly like her. This mirror-image (no, that was the wrong way to describe it... if it had been that, the hair would have been flipped around, right?) wore the boy's uniform of Shujin Academy as Kyo had done the previous day. Her grin was thin, flirty, and her eyes were eerily yellow, the opposite of the green they should have been. Kyo stared, gawked even. The resemblance was too exact to be anything short of an identical twin, and Kyo knew herself to be an only child.</p><p>This apparition lifted the hand not occupied with her hip and tapped the side of her nose, grin growing wider.</p><p><strong>"There's already a castle there,"</strong> this yellow-eyed Kyo said, disapproving but amused. <strong>"Someone actually called dibs on it. That sick bastard thinks he owns the place, too. Ha! I'll show him. Before he even sees the foot that kicked him in the those deviant family jewels of his, I'll make that place into the Palace it was <em>meant</em> to be. A beautiful palace, where those I love can live in peace, in the heaven that is <em>my</em> embrace. Don't disappoint me out there, Me-chan. Strut your stuff... show him who <em>really</em> rules the roost. Kyeheh...!"</strong></p><p>And then? Then it was as if it hadn't happened at all. People were moving, the noise of their chatter invaded her eardrums as if a damn had burst and that waterfall was suddenly not just the constant source of white noise it had been before its inexplicable absence. A slap broke through to her awareness through the tangle of audiovisual sensation, and Kyo looked toward the source. That maybe-receptive-but-probably-just-polite trio of girls had apparently just been polite, until the gremlin, obviously a bit drunk, slid a hand over one of the girls' thighs and received the only appropriate answer someone could give when you did that in the middle of a crowded street. Even gremlin-boy's cohorts looked mortified by him, and were backing away, faces scrunched-up with the words <em>What the hell, man?!</em> all but tattooed across their foreheads.</p><p>The slap also diverted the policeman who'd been berating the other drunk. Said policeman looked like the most long-suffering fool on the planet, as he gave the man he had <em>been</em> threatening with arrest a short, angry dismissal, and then stomped over toward the unruly group of teen boys... there was no sign that the policeman, or the pedestrians, or anyone had noticed any disturbance at all apart from the grabby drunk who had probably just earned himself an overnight vacation in a holding cell...</p><p>Kyo almost believed it had been some kind of daydream or delusion, as her eyes and ears and good sense were now telling her it must have been. Almost believe it had been. And would have believed it had been, if her entire body hadn't suddenly been oriented in the wrong fucking direction and positioned three yards from where she'd started, too damn fast for anything but the movements she <em>remembered </em>making to account for it. No one, not even the little girl and the mother who strolled without a care through the open space that Kyo had just occupied, seemed to have noticed her miraculous use of the Instant Transmission Technique.</p><p>She stared down at the app, still full-screen on her phone, and sucked in a shuddering breath.</p><p>"And just what the hell was <em>that </em>fresh bowl o' batshit?" she breathed, heart still hammering blood through a vein in her neck. She reached up with her empty hand and felt her racing pulse, then hastily clicked her phone's lock button and turned to scan the area with her eyes. There had to be a place around here to sit down, calm down, re-adjust... <em>think</em>. Sit down. Calm down. Think. Sit down. Calm down...</p><p>She walked as quickly as she could, eyes frantically searching for such a place until finally she found a bench by a bus stop at the outerskirts of the station square. Ignoring the bored salaryman who occupied one half of it, she plopped down leaned forward, stuffing her phone into her inner jacket pocket so she could rest her head in her hands and hold it as close to her knees as she could without it becoming some kind of impromptu yoga routine.</p><p>She remained there for what felt like a very long time, eyes closed, breathing deeply. The faint scent of the laundry detergent still clinging to the knees of her cargo pants was almost like incense. Dimly, she was aware of the salaryman vacating the bench in-between the rumbling of a bus engine arriving and departing. She didn't want to get up. But the world did not go silent again.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It was some time later, almost half an hour, when the random tangents of her thought process yanked her hook-through-nose out of this stupor. It occurred to her that society was a marvel in how easily people ignored other people in obvious distress. Not once as she sat there had anyone tried to ask if she was okay, although she supposed someone probably would have done exactly that if she hadn't looked like a punk-ass <em>boy</em> when she held her arms in front of her open jacket, like she'd been doing this whole time.</p><p>Kyo snorted, shook her head, and stood up.</p><p><em>Get it together, "Me-chan,"</em> she thought to herself with sardonic amusement. The mental image she had formed of herself sitting with her head down at a random bus stop was just too uncharacteristically pitiful for her to do anything but laugh at.</p><p>Alright, so she sure as heck wasn't tired enough to be nodding off on her feet. She was also fairly certain that recovering alcoholics didn't experience hallucinations unless one happened to find themselves stuck inside a haunted mountain hotel over the winter. Kyo was confident in her sanity, even if she was learning to doubt her maturity, so whatever had happened was certainly <em>a thing that had happened</em>. What did that mean for her?</p><p>She clicked the unlock button, slid her finger over the bottom of the phone, and stared at the red-eye icon on her phone. It was a creepy, but cool-looking design. She would have mistaken it for some kind of edgy mobile role-playing game if she hadn't checked it and found a navigation app. If she really had a mobile application that could make the user have weird hallucinatory episodes... maybe is used some kind of horrible subliminal messaging thing or MKUltra fuckery. Whatever the case, she wanted to know just what the <em>shit</em> had happened to her, but thought that maybe it wasn't such a hot idea to mess with it in the middle of a public street.</p><p>So Kyo slid her finger to the right across the phone's screen, scrolling back to her own <em>quite mundane and ordinary</em> navigation application.</p><p>She tapped it. Mundane and ordinary was a redundant and repetitious way of describing it. But Kyo figured that a mundane, ordinary navigation application would be just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious for her state of mind right now. And so it was. She found the nearest cluster of places to eat, including a diner, beef bowl place, and Big Bang Burger, figuring this was likely to be the best place to start her exploration of Shibuya. The strange, mind-twisting red-eye icon wouldn't be going anywhere unless she uninstalled it, so that would keep until she had the privacy of her bedroom to work with.</p><p>As soon as she was sure of her game plan, the weirdness of what had happened didn't seem so overpowering anymore. She gradually regained her confidence and casual energy as she walked.</p><p>And so she found herself swimming along with and against a frothing stream of comers-and-goers, admiring the big-city charm that exuded from the place. Occasionally she glanced at her phone, and it was only when she saw the little rounded arrow icon that represented herself come level with that diner that she stopped and really took in the businesses around her.</p><p>A bookstore. Hm. Ooh, a video store! Definitely more her speed. Not that she hated books, she just had trouble focusing on them. She'd come to appreciate reading a bit more since she'd started picking up English-language novels to help hammer the foreign words into her noggin, though... she'd even gotten pretty invested in her English-language copy of <em>The Last Wish</em>, although it was a bit weird when she thought of it, being a Japanese girl reading an English translation of a Polish short story collection. It was easier to get invested if it was a language she wanted to learn and a video game series that she was already pretty into, though.</p><p>"Heyyyyy, you look like you're new in town," a voice sounded from her right. Thankfully with no unearthly distortions this time, just regular old <em>earthly</em> slime and sleeze. Kyo's eyes went deadpan and she sighed, without looking. She wasn't worried, in spite of the suspicion that had spiked in her gut. Kyo could see the man in his casually-open suit jacket in her peripheral vision as it was, and there was no real need to be on guard for aggression when both of them were practically buried in a mobile dog-pile of witnesses.</p><p>So she just continued to look over the buildings lining the street ahead of her and said casually, "Who's askin'?"</p><p>The man, perturbed a little by her inattention, stepped to the side so that he was a bit more directly in her line of sight. This naturally drew her eyes to him whether she liked it or not, but she kept her patented, deadpan <em>the fuck's this shit </em>look on at full blast just to spite him. It was subtle, yet obvious: a tightening of the muscles around her eyes, which turned expressionlessness into obvious flatness. He frowned at the look she was giving him, and made a "Tch" sound.</p><p>"I was just lookin' to welcome you to town, dude," he offered. Then his eyes flicked downward, and his eyebrows went up. "Oh. My mistake. You look, uh, a lot less feminine from the side."</p><p>"I get that a lot," Kyo said blandly. "I look even less feminine when I take the jacket off. Experience has taught me that a girl who lifts might as well spray herself with dudebro repellant in the mornin'."</p><p>The guy in the suit jacket laughed. So he wasn't uptight about his masculinity, huh? Point for him, then. Kyo let the deadpan slide out of her eyes, and even graced the man with a personable smirk.</p><p>"Ahhhh, you I like," he said, as the laughter died down. "I was gonna ask if you were up for an odd job, y'know, make a bit o' yen. But on second thought, maybe you ain't the type. Welcome to Shibuya, anyways."</p><p>Kyo cocked an eyebrow, the smirk disappearing. "A job?" she prompted. "Or a swindle? Y'gotta know that's kinda like bein' a hitchhiker... only gullible doofs would take ya up on it."</p><p>She kept her voice carefully lowered and casual, making it sound like she didn't disapprove of this tactic, and was simply criticizing its effectiveness. The man looked momentarily wary, but then shrugged, and leaned in conspiratorially. "You'd be surprised how many gullible doofs you can find in a day, just by hanging around the popular spots," he said slyly. "You sound like you've been around the block before, though. You, uh... you affiliated with any group as yet? You <em>do</em> look new to town. Only newbies need Google Maps to find their way around <em>this </em>city block."</p><p>Affiliated with any groups. As in criminal groups, Kyo realized with a teaspoon measure of black humor. She shook her head.</p><p>"I'm a free agent," she said, with a crooked smile. "Haven't put down roots yet."</p><p>"Wellllll," said the man. "You just might find a place to dig into the ground if stick with me."</p><p>Aha! Ha! Ha! That was a laugh. Barely exchanged two words with the first stranger to address her and she was already being recruited by the fucking mafia. At least, she assumed it was. This guy definitely wasn't yakuza. They weren't as graceless as this blundering ox, and wouldn't likely be running a scam that targeted teenagers. They probably also wouldn't have extended such an invitation to a young girl, even if she <em>did</em> dress like a wannabe hardass. But this <em>gullible doof</em> had bought into her low-key bluff. Kyo knew that if she just talked like she knew what was going on, it was pretty easy to trick someone into thinking you knew more than you'd really confirmed. The trick was not look like she was trying to learn what she didn't know.</p><p>And the secret to good acting was to make yourself feel what you wanted to look like you felt. So Kyo channeled her amusement at this turn of events into a good-natured twinkle of her eyes. "That sounds like a private talk t' me," she answered, her voice carrying the suggestion of a snicker.</p><p>"So it does, so it does," said the man, who reached into his jacket and extracted a notepad.</p><p>A few quick scribbles and then he tore out a page, handing her a slip of paper. It was a phone number. There wasn't a name written alongside it; it was nothing but a number.</p><p>"This your personal phone?" Kyo asked, glancing up over the sheet. "Lucky me. Barely a week in town and already scored a date. Stud magnets, these abs."</p><p>The man laughed, and shook his head. Her tone had made it obvious that she was joking, so he rolled with it. "You just call that number if you want to start making connections," he said, still chuckling. "I can make introductions for you. The start of a lucrative career, if you've got the <em>stomach</em> for it."</p><p>"Career, huh?" Kyo echoed thoughtfully, folding the paper deftly between her fingers and slipping it into her pocket. "I'll think about it. But I'd better be on my way before someone notices us and thinks it's a bit of a weird exchange goin' on here, if you follow me."</p><p>The man nodded, eyes glinting. They darted down to her abs. Oh. So that was why he was so quick to offer her a potential entry-level employment inroad. He was an abs man. How interesting. The question was, did the invitation hold water, or was he just looking to bait Kyo into the bedroom? Probably both. She wondered if he could even tell she wasn't an adult yet, and now that this occurred to her, she realized it was likely he thought she was eighteen or nineteen. Girls with her general <em>look</em> weren't so common that guys could be expected to pin down her real age with just a glance.</p><p>She gave him a two-fingered salute and went on her way. As soon as she knew he was behind him, the deadpan flatness retook control of her eye muscles. That silly son of a goat. Well, she would keep the number and think about pursuing it later. Fucking with some mafia goons and causing a little trouble for scumbags who deserved it? To Kyo, it sounded like nothing less than good sport. But she was trying to focus her attention on senior year and maybe volleyball, a legitimate sport. So maybe she'd just ignore it this time.</p><p>Funny how shit like this had a way of falling into her lap, though. Stud magnets? Maybe her abs were trouble magnets. Maybe she could save herself a world of annoyance if she took the Big Bang Burger challenge and grew herself a healthy, feminine layer of smooth fat to cushion that muscle against all the trouble that was magnetized to it. Yeah. Maybe she would do that.</p><p>When Kyo <em>really </em>went insane and decided that she wanted to live a boring life, she would.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Her visit to Shibuya was a pretty normal one after that, even if spontaneity overrode her vague plan for what she wanted to do and she wound up going to see a movie at the theater before she went hunting around they alleyways, and had only taken the time to scope out the arcade instead of challenging anyone to that dance-off.</p><p>It was in one of said alleyways that she found just the perfect little gym for her needs, Protein Lovers, which didn't charge for a membership or anything and was therefore just right for her kind of irregular exercise habits. A plan was forming in her head — she would join the Volleyball Team at Shujin, using the training as her fitness centerpiece, and would hit Protein Lovers on the days when she didn't have practice. Unless, of course, her body was telling her to lay off and let her muscles rebuild themselves for a little while. She was good at gauging her recovery like that.</p><p>She'd also found a promising little back-alley shop that sold airsoft guns and guns models, plus other related miscellany. She'd wanted to go in (a model Beretta M9 to hang on the wall in her room would have been just <em>super</em>) but she figured that after publicly conversing with a shady guy and accepting a slip of paper from him, it was best to avoid entering any buildings that might raise suspicions about her activities. Just in case, you know, someone who could observe things properly had noticed and made a point to be sure she was above board. The trip into the movie theater had been her impulsive means to disappear from the street for a while, too. Also just in case.</p><p>It wasn't as if she'd been nervous or anything. Like the rambling tangents her brain spiraled off on at all odd hours of the day, it was just the way she was: if it seemed like a smart idea, she tended to treat it like one. If Mafia Man was operating openly and <em>she</em> had an inkling of what was going on, chances were good that someone in local law enforcement was at least smart enough to notice that something was up, too.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"I have returned from my odyssey of urban exploration, with gifts from the elves," Kyo declared theatrically as she opened the apartment's front door.</p><p>A swinging plastic bag preceded her through it, and she shut the door with a careless thud behind her. Eri Morinaga, who was reading a thin paperback romance novel on the armchair in the sitting-room corner, looked up and gracefully slipped a finger into the book as she closed it to save her page.</p><p>"Kyo-chan! Welcome home," she said. "How was Shibuya?"</p><p>"Not bad," she said, shrugging out of her jacket and hanging it by the door. "Tokyo's got its own kinda feel, but I think I can get used to it. D'ya know, I already found a video store that sells the movies I like, and even the book store by the diner has a pretty nicely-stuffed little English-language imports section."</p><p>She held up the bag, digging through it as she plopped down on the sofa. She extracted two items: a box set Blu-Ray collection containing <em>The Godfather</em> and both of its sequels, and then quite a thick paperback book: the English cover bore the words <em>The Godfather</em> and the author's name, Mario Puzu. Eri slowly dog-eared the page in her own book and set it down on the small, round table with the reading lamp that next to her chair.</p><p>"That's... quite a lot of reading," she observed, nodding in the direction of the book to indicate its imposing girth. "I thought you said you had trouble focusing on books."</p><p>"Eh, I figured I'd take a chance on it," Kyo answered, digging into the bag again, which had three more items left inside. "If I can get better with books, maybe I can study without losin' concentration so damn hard. Who knows. And I picked up these for you."</p><p>She pulled out two additional books, much thinner than <em>The Godfather</em> and sporting Japanese-language covers. Setting those down, she extracted the final item, a DVD. Eri's eyes widened a bit and she leaned forward, taking a closer look to be sure she was seeing things right. The books were both recently-released novels by authors that she loved: there were quite a lot of books by both of them on the shelf in her room. The DVD was an older film, but it was one she'd missed out on when it had been newly-released and had never gotten around to purchasing for herself. It was a historical satire by one of Japan's most respected directors.</p><p>"Kyo-chan..." she whispered.</p><p>Eri had only mentioned it to her daughter once, three months before. She'd been half-drunk on champagne, whining about how stifling Akio had been as a husband. He hadn't approved of her taste in movies, and she'd passed on a lot of films because she hadn't wanted to rock the boat. She'd mentioned this one by name. Missing it when it had been showing in theaters had been... a huge wrench, really, the first time she had felt that she was sacrificing too much to appease her husband's narrow worldview.</p><p>Kyo had remembered... Eri almost wanted to cry, it touched her so. Kyo set the items down on the table almost carelessly, then made a show of looking disinterested. Eri stared at her daughter. Kyo looked like she wanted Eri to believe it wasn't a hugely important gesture.</p><p>But Eri knew better. Kyo had never gotten her a gift before, unless there was some kind of formal occasion that demanded it, and she'd never put such obvious thought into one when she had. This was different. This was her daughter showing that she truly cared.</p><p>Eri stood up, and slowly walked to the sofa. Sitting down next to her daughter, she watched Kyo jump slightly at the disturbance this caused in the cushions; then, smiling, she leaned in and wrapped her daughter in a hug.</p><p>"Oi! Mom..." Kyo muttered, fidgeting. The position she'd been sitting in meant that she couldn't have returned the hug even if she wanted to, since Eri's arms had pinned hers to her sides.</p><p>"Thanks for remembering my drunken bitching," Eri laughed. Kyo didn't answer right away. Hearing vulgar language like that come out of her mom's mouth almost registered in her brain as some mutated hybrid of French, Greek, and Korean, Eri realized. It <em>was</em> a little out of character, even if she'd been quite the vulgar little hellion when she had been Kyo's age.</p><p>And then Kyo said awkwardly, as if to explain that it was truly no big deal, "I remember just about everything anyone tells me whether I wanna remember or not."</p><p>"Well, thank you for remembering <em>this</em>," Eri said with grateful firmness that brooked no further hand-waving. She pulled back and looked at the movie on the table specifically. "I'll be sure to enjoy watching it."</p><p>"You do that," Kyo mumbled bashfully as her mother let her go.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>A little while later, when Eri had gone back to the novel and darkness fell outside to a point where she'd switched on the reading lamp, Kyo shut herself in her bedroom. After a moment's consideration, she also locked the door. She didn't make a point of being quiet about doing that. Even if her mom noticed, she'd probably just assume that Kyo wanted some alone time with her laptop computer and some vaguely phallic item hidden away at the bottom of one of her dresser drawers. Eri was at least tactful enough not to pry into that. Thinking about it, she'd always stayed out of that stuff. She had only ever intruded into the subject of Kyo's sex life when she had been worried about <em>who</em> Kyo had been dating, and that had been in the interest of her future, hadn't it?</p><p><em>...Why did I never notice that the one thing she never lectured me about,</em> Kyo thought to herself as she dragged her feet to sit on the chair in front of her desk, <em>was how "active" I was? Oh, the shit I did to hurt people, yeah, but she never said anything about me sleeping around. I guess I just assumed that it was an implied thing.</em></p><p>This was a question to ponder about her mother some other time. For now, Kyo had a haunted Android phone to examine. She opened the top drawer of her desk, and then slid her fingers into her jacket pocket. Out came the folded piece of paper with Mr. Mafia Man's personal number scribbled on it, which she turned over in front of her eyes under the dimming light from the street-lamps outside of her window. Blindly reaching across the desk with her other hand, she flipped the switch at the base of the lamp, giving herself a source of brighter liked to work with. After considering her decision to keep the man's number around for a bit, she set the paper down on top of the stack of notebooks inside the drawer. She slid it shut, then pulled out her phone and set it face-up on the desk, staring at it without unlocking it. The bright white circle of the desk lamp's reflection glared up at her from its smooth surface.</p><p>What had <em>actually</em> happened in that square today, anyway?</p><p>Kyo had half-expected the memory of the vision or hallucination or whatever it was to become hazy with time, like a dream one could only barely recall three or four hours after waking. But it was still there, as clear and as crisp as anything else that had happened that day. Even clearer, in fact, than her memories of <em>most</em> of the day. The only things that stood out as much in her mind were her encounter with Mafia Man, a few memorable snippets of her shopping expedition, and the movie she'd caught at the theater — which had actually been pretty damn good.</p><p>She reached over, slowly turning the phone around — though she left it flat on the desk — so that the screen was oriented toward her and she could run her finger down the central button to unlock it. She clicked the button on the top-right edge, activating the screen. The time and the date, March 29th, displayed brightly on screen. She ran her finger across the button, and the Home screen zoomed into prominence with barely any lag. It was a damn good phone, she thought. The lack of lag also stood as a good argument that the strange app which had appeared on her phone out of nowhere wasn't doing anything to hinder her phone's performance.</p><p>More to prolong the moment when she would actually have to tap that ominous icon than anything, Kyo reached to the back of her desk and plucked the charger cable up between index finger and thumb. She tugged it out from behind the desk so she could stick it into her phone. The battery icon blinked from half-full to "lightning bolt, bee-atch," and Kyo leaned back. Folding her arms across her chest, she stared at her phone for a bit longer. Kyo knew it wouldn't lock itself, as she'd set it so that it would stay active for a full ten minutes unless she locked it manually.</p><p>Kyo was a hands-on kind of person like that. Even cars that turned their headlights on or locked their doors by themselves kind of pissed her off. Idiot-proofing like that was just, you know, a little frickin' condescending. She thought so, anyway.</p><p>So she stared at her phone for a full minute and a half, and then leaned forward, flicked her finger across the screen, and hovered with her middle finger a few hairs' breadths above the eyeball icon. It was still positioned overtop Morrigan's tit on her wallpaper, but now that she was at the point of experimenting with it again she couldn't find it in her to be amused by that. At last, gritting her teeth, she tapped the screen.</p><p>The sounds of the city murmuring through her cracked-open window did not abate. She released the breath she'd been holding, and leaned in to examine the bizarre navigation app. There was no textbox to type in. The app looked to be voice-activated, so she drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the desk and then said the first word that came to mind.</p><p>"Dicks."</p><p>A waveform animation played, and unsurprisingly, the app answered her in a mechanical feminine voice with, "<em>No candidates found</em>."</p><p>"So you're tellin' me this is a city of eunuchs..." Kyo responded to her phone, leaning back and snorting.</p><p>"<em>No candidates found."<br/></em></p><p>"Pff. C'mon, that wasn't a search term, stupid app. Okay, how about... muffins."</p><p>
  <em>"No candidates found."</em>
</p><p>"Tokyo truly is hell on Earth," Kyo lamented.</p><p>"<em>No candidates found."</em></p><p>"...A navigation app that can't find Tokyo, Hell, or Earth. Sounds useful," Kyo said dryly.</p><p>
  <em>"No candidates found."</em>
</p><p>"What a borin' conversation... okay, then. How 'bout Osaka?"</p><p>
  <em>"No candidates found."</em>
</p><p>Kyo's eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. The app didn't recognize two of Japan's biggest cities? What?</p><p>"...Nagoya," she said, after a few moments of pondering this.</p><p>
  <em>"No candidates found."</em>
</p><p>"...New York?"</p><p>
  <em>"No candidates found."</em>
</p><p>Alright, so it wasn't some American thing. Maybe she should try a different tack.</p><p>"Shujin Academy," Kyo guessed, the first thing to come to mind.</p><p>
  <em>"Two candidates found."</em>
</p><p>"...Alright, how 'bout... wait. What?"</p><p>And so it had found a hit at last. Kyo leaned in over her phone, scratching a random itch near the back of her neck. There was now a visual search history above the voice-search waveform prompt, consisting of two horizontal lines. They were displayed in such small type that she was glad for her phone's high-resolution screen:</p><p>
  <em>? - ? - Shujin Academy - ?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>? - ? - Shujin Academy - ?</em>
</p><p>"...Huh," was all that Kyo could say to that. She leaned back, utterly flummoxed now. So it wasn't just a general search-term thing. The app seemed to use some kind of weird keyword system. A bizarrely specific one that only recognized specific keyword combinations and seemed to need four specific ones to produce a result. Kyo shook her head. It didn't make any sense. Just what <em>was</em> this program's function supposed to be? What did a keyword-combination search system have to do with that weird hallucinatory episode she'd had earlier?</p><p>She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling and groaning. The only thing that Kyo knew for sure now was that it recognized her school, or at least the name of her school... which could have been shared by another location or two other locations or fifteen other locations for all she knew. She could sit here guessing at the other keywords all night, but she didn't know where to begin, and it would be both a long process and a mind-numbingly boring one unless she got lucky. And she'd probably forget what words she'd already used unless she wrote them down as she said them or read them from a list, and even then she'd have to re-check a progressively longer and longer list whenever her memory failed her. She might as well just read words out in order from a frickin' dictionary, or...</p><p>Kyo's eyes popped open. It had taken all of thirty seconds for the answer to occur to her. She grinned, and burst out laughing at the simplicity of it.</p><p>"Ha! Haha, kyeheheheheheh... " she laughed at the ceiling, kicking her chair back and propping her foot against the leg of her desk to balance on its rear legs. "Ah, someone just give me a bag o' toothpicks and a ball o' string, and I'll be Prime Minister by the end o' the week...!"</p><p>She let the front of the chair drop to the floor with a thump, and reached for the laptop that she'd left closed at the back corner of the desk. Pulling it forward, she opened it. It was still plugged in and turned on, with a small USB mouse plugged in on the right-hand side. Kyo punched in a four-digit PIN to unlock it, and away she went.</p><p>Within a few minutes, she'd downloaded an e-book and loaded it into a free reader-slash-editor she kept installed for those occasions when she wanted to read a foreign book or comic that was <em>difficult</em> to obtain legally. To her credit — she thought so, at least — it wasn't a program that she used often. Opening this e-book, she leaned back and grinned in satisfaction. A complete Japanese dictionary, that was all. All she needed was to run a screen-reader app and it would rattle off a bunch of words on its own. She could let that run while slept, if she set her phone to never lock itself. And then in the morning, she would roll out of bed and see what kind of result her cunning plan had produced!</p><p>Such a simple solution, exactly like running a password-hacking program. Just cycle through the possible variables until gold was struck. <em>Ladies and gentlemen of the board, for your consideration: the smartest girl EVER!</em></p><p>Kyo set up the screen-reader and dialed down the volume of her laptop so that it wouldn't carry through the door. As the computer spat out words in a monotone voice, her phone obediently responded: "<em>No candidate found... no candidate found... no candidate found..." </em>over and over. Satisfied that her solution would work, Kyo paused the screen-reader and backed out of the nav app, just long enough to hit the settings menu and tell her phone to never shut its screen off. Kyo would set it back to ten minutes in the morning. Then, she laid the device back down on the desk next to the computer and switched back to the nav app. One last click of the USB mouse and her makeshift hacking scheme spun back into motion, freeing her to change into her short-shorts and tank top and crash in bed. She had to start working on waking up early before school started, after all.</p><p>The one flaw with this plan was that it meant listening to the faint robotic back-and-forth between her computer's droning screen-reader and the soulless feminine tones of the strange navigation app. After a while it became white noise in the background. Kyo didn't even register what either device was saying anymore as she drifted away into a satisfied slumber... but she would later recall the exact moment when the monotonous drone of <em>no candidates found</em> broke its own combo and became <em>candidate found </em>for exactly one second before going back to a whole lot of zilch.</p><p>She slept soundly. Until about four in the morning, that is, when her mother passed her bedroom on the way get a glass of water. She knocked on Kyo's door and barked through it:</p><p>"Kyo! Kyo! <em>Kyo Morinaga</em>, just what in blue hell are you doing at this hour?!"</p><p><em>"Candidate found.</em>"</p><p>Kyo jolted awake and sat up. "Sorry! I left the TV on," she blurted out, the first excuse that came to mind. She scrambled over to her desk and hastily shut the screen reader off. But now she found herself staring at the phone in confusion, because there was something... something not... she shook her head, clearing the cobweb residue of prematurely broken sleep. Her brain wasn't quite making sense of what her eyes were showing it.</p><p>"<em>Please decrease physical proximity to begin navigation,</em>" the app instructed. She picked up her phone, staring at the now quite voluminous search history.</p><p>"Well, don't do it again," her mother grumped. "The walls in this apartment aren't as thick as the ones back home."</p><p>"...That so? ...Valuable information, that," Kyo answered, looking at the door with her most deadpan of expressions. "Let's just call that an unintentional science experiment, then. Now I know that I needta stay quiet."</p><p>"...So you do." Her mother's tone suggested that the implication had only just dawned on her. "Yes. You do that. Stay quiet, I mean."</p><p>"Likewise," Kyo deadpanned back.</p><p>Her mother sounded like she had been moving to return to her room, but Kyo thought she heard an awkward choke or coughing sound that suggested Kyo had hit the nail on the head with her jab. There had been more than one potentially awkward problem with the apartment's thin walls on her mother's mind just then, Kyo figured.</p><p>Once Kyo was sure that her mother was back in bed, Kyo turned her attention once more to the navigator's search history. Quite a few words had registered while she slept, but most of them were just standalone terms. Kyo noted, with a confused scratch of her head, that most of the words she <em>had</em> gotten right had landed in either the second or fourth slot. There weren't any new locations. Locations, it seemed, belonged in the third slot. So she needed a location for the third slot, a noun for the fourth slot... just any old noun, it seemed, there were a lot of those filled in... and... she needed some kind of action word for the second slot. A lot of the ones that had been unlocked by the screen-reader were crimes and such. <em>Arson... rape... serial killer... pervert... plagiarism...</em></p><p>She scrolled to the original two entries, which were now separated by a number of items in the search history. One of them was complete, and the other, three-quarters of the way there.</p><p>The latter: <em>? - Pervert - Shujin Academy - Castle</em></p><p>And the former, the most recent item in the search history, was the most confusing of all.</p><p>
  <em>Kyo Morinaga - Obsession - Shujin Academy - Cocoon</em>
</p><p>"...The flyin' fartwhistles duzzat mean?" Kyo mumbled to herself. But there were no further answers to be found that night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 1-2: The Babbling Butterflies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>No matter how much weird stuff is going on in your life or how focused you are on making good on a fresh start, it is never too early to take advantage when a sexy former track star with a fun personality walks into your life!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Two -<br/>
"The Babbling Butterflies"</strong>
</p>
<hr/><p><strong>K</strong>yo had resolved not chase after any boys, whether for love or something a little baser, until she'd finished senior year and at least made it into a decent-enough college. Then she would get to know someone dependable — not someone stuck-up like her father had been, though; she needed it to be a guy she could have fun with and who would let her <em>be herself.</em> That was the absolute toppest of priorities. She would have expected that to be mutual for anyone she hooked up with. But it also had to be someone who could carry his weight and would be open to moving into an apartment together. She didn't want to be a burden on her mother forever, and just as much as that, she didn't want to leach off the Okumura names or their contacts. Kyo wanted to make it in the world as herself and no one but herself. It just so happened that, without wealth, moving out on her own wasn't a realistic thing to shoot for. Even kids from fairly respectable, affluent families were prone to being stuck as dependents for a good while in this day and age. That was just the reality of it.</p><p>So, yeah. Anyway. Kyo had resolved not chase after boys. She didn't want to test the weight of her baggage yet, for one thing. And on top of that, she also had a well-considered, full-metal-logic-based reason for making this decision. In the days between March 30th and the start of school on April 4th, there had been no cause to expect that anything would derail her from the path she had set herself on. No, not even raging teen-girl hormones. That was why she had God's gift to his children, also known as the Internet.</p><p>So Kyo was more than a <em>little</em> annoyed with herself when her resolve — constructed out of wet toilet paper and a cardboard tube, evidently — fell apart in glorious fashion before she even boarded the train that would carry her into the first Monday of the school year. She had also begun keeping a computer journal, using a magnificent little program she'd found online. It synced her entries to a cloud, so that they could be both read and written on either her laptop or her phone. Her sole entry for April 4th, written on the train ride home from their first official date, was short and to the point. It consisted of a single line of text, and went something like this:</p><p>
  <em>Damn you, Ryuji Sakamato... you magnificent, sexy bastard.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It began thusly: with Kyo rolling out of bed, the way it always began. She was so anxious about how the day might go that she forgot to admire herself in the mirror for once. She got up, stretched, did some jumping jacks and squats to get the blood pumping, and then made a beeline for the shower. Thoroughly sanitized, she emerged in her uniform and found her mother preparing a simple eggs-and-bacon breakfast in the kitchen area.</p><p>"I still can't believe they're willing to permit you to wear the boys' uniform," were the first words out of Eri's mouth, dubious and a little disapproving. She turned look Kyo over, her daughter standing at the mouth of the short and narrow hall that separated the two bedrooms and the single, cramped bathroom.</p><p>Kyo shrugged. "They're kiss-ups. Haru's name was a magic word that did the job that 'please' only wishes it could," she said shrewdly. "Look at it this way, mom. D'ya really want a buncha horny teenage boys starin' at my legs? My chastity'll be safer this way, see?"</p><p>Eri shook her head. Apparently she wasn't to be derailed by teenage-daughter humor, because she skated right past it.</p><p>"You wearing a uniform like that will be distracting in a different way," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if your homeroom teacher makes a point to pass it off as some special circumstance when he introduces you. They might be unwilling to ruffle the feathers of an affluent family, but they wouldn't want the other students thinking they can break dress code."</p><p>Kyo, who was pulling out a chair and halfway to sitting down side-saddle at the table, went motionless for a heartbeat with the seat of her pants suspended a foot above it. She gave her mother an appraising look, then chuckled and let herself drop onto the chair.</p><p>"I didn't even think o' that. Are you speakin' from experience there?" Kyo asked. Eri, turning to the table with two plates in her hands — each bearing eggs, bacon, and a single slice of buttered toast — smiled sheepishly and sat on the side opposite Kyo. She slid a plate over to her daughter, obviously considering how honest to be with her answer.</p><p>"I might have had a few special allowances made for me at school myself," Eri said cryptically. She adjusted her chair and settled in to eat. "The point is, you should be prepared for any spin the faculty decides to put on your story. They won't mention your connection to the Okumura name the way they advertised it when we went there to take the test; Haru's status and family connections are probably treated as confidential, even if they're allowed to vaguely reference having been given the honor of educating the company president's child. They certainly don't want students or parents accusing them of favoritism, either. So they'll try to spin it as if the exception they're making is out of the goodness of their hearts, rather than their own self-interest. To be honest, Kyo-chan, I was considering putting my foot down last night in spite of that. But I've decided that I'll allow this."</p><p>Kyo plucked up a piece of bacon between two fingers (her hands always felt so <em>naked</em> without those biking gloves!) and took a large bite, savoring the bacony goodness. Once she swallowed, she asked, "Why?"</p><p>"Because," Eri said slowly, "I've been around the block a few times, and I know that certain people have an eye for a certain kind of uniform on young girls..."</p><p>Kyo's eyebrows went up. Her mother was worried about <em>that</em>?</p><p>"...and I think that it's a bit of an oxymoron for schools to require girls to wear short skirts but also turn around and berate them for distracting boys in their learning environment," Eri added briskly. She picked up a slice of egg with her chopsticks and ate it. Kyo tilted her head to one side.</p><p>"Huh. So you <em>do</em> have opinions on things," Kyo said with an exaggerated sense of wide-eyed wonder. Eri gave her a look that was disturbingly reminiscent of Kyo's own deadpan expression, the one she reserved for people or situations that struck her as a little too stupid for this universe.</p><p>"Of course I have opinions on things. I just don't feel the need to trumpet them in the street like a certain someone I know," said Eri. Her lips turned up in a small smile. "At any rate, you're nearly eighteen. In a few years you'll be a legal adult. I can't make you into a conformist if you don't want to be, and I don't want you pretending to be something you're not just to please me — and then changing uniforms in the restroom at the train station like you did in middle school. Don't look at me like that, of course I knew about it. You're lucky it was me that picked up the phone and not your father, when the school called. As far as your guidance counselor was aware, you had parental permission."</p><p>Kyo's look of guilt and disbelief became blank, slack-jawed, and uncomprehending.</p><p>"Just be sure not to behave in a way that encourages the school staff to regard your fashion sense as a sign of delinquency," Eri said without stopping to observe her daughter's reaction. "This won't be like your previous school."</p><p>How had things changed so much between her and her mother in so short a time? Kyo was so wrong-footed, so unused to this kind of consideration from her mom, that she could only nod silent agreement with the advice she'd been given. Yeah, okay. She <em>had</em> already been planning to try and be a model student this year anyway. Now she just had a secondary notion that she could maybe change some opinions about teenagers who dressed themselves differently than the norm. Maybe if she followed through on it to the end of the year, Kyo thought, the faculty at Shujin would be less inclined to make assumptions about their students before they'd been given good reason to be critical of them.</p><p>It was surprising even to her how naturally she took to this idea, how much more spring there was in her step when she headed out the door. Kyo had never felt such intoxicating <em>optimism</em> on a Monday morning before.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Public transit was the pits. Kyo envied all the teenagers in Western shows and movies who could just drive their own clunker-junker used car to school when they got licenses at seventeen. Even if Kyo had managed to get a motorcycle and a license by now, something that she was still working on, it wasn't likely she could have used it to get to school. So Kyo was stuck taking the train, packed in like merchandise in a shipping container along with all of the other Faceless Ones that populated this city. Even worse, getting to Aoyoma-Itchome required her to change trains. Kyo hated that kind of complicated commute. It meant needing to always keep up with potential train delays, and that meant never knowing when she'd need to endure an abnormally early morning.</p><p>The train route to school involved stopping at the same station in Shibuya that she'd gotten off at when she'd shopped around the previous week. She had only taken the train one time since then, in order to apply for a part-time job at a convenience store. The owner had been dubious of her hair, even when Kyo had revealed that it was natural. So she'd asked him if there were any places nearby that sold wigs, and she had agreed to wear one while on the job. It would make her look like a nice, law-abiding black-haired girl. Coloring her eyebrows before every shift was doing to be a pain in the ass, but if other women had the patience to apply eyeliner in the mornings... well, Kyo figured she could deal with touching up her eyebrows a couple evenings a week.</p><p>Getting a job had been something her mother had suggested when Kyo had asked for logistics on getting an apartment of her own. Eri had not been optimistic, but said that saving up early would make it less of a hurdle for Kyo later on... provided she also took what steps she needed to do well in her exams and get into a good college. A part-time job was also a commitment that could be cut loose on relatively short notice, in the event Kyo's schedule became unmanageable. So it wasn't as big a detriment to Kyo's studying time as some schools would consider it to be. On the contrary (Eri had said), it was arguable that learning to balance work and school was a good, rigorous way to train one's own time management skills: it was therefore a good thing that Shujin Academy did not restrict student jobs.</p><p>In light of the conversation they'd had over breakfast, Kyo wondered if the subject of student jobs was another topic that Eri might have stronger feelings on than she had let on at the time.</p><p>Kyo blew a breath out through her teeth and closed her eyes. Without any conscious effort on her part, her right boot-heel began to tap-tap-tap on the platform floor. The wait between trains was always the least-fun part of her morning. It was too loud in the train station to enjoy any music, and Kyo liked to fully immerse herself into any video games she played. This was the main reason that she had sprung for her PlayStation and the old flatscreen she played it on, instead of going for a portable system like a lot of her old classmates had. The usual means and methods employed by the other Faceless Ones to make their boring commutes less boring just did not gel with Kyo. For as unfocused as she had felt when trying to read <em>The Godfather</em> the night before, attempting to play even a simple color-matching game on her phone when surrounded by so much <em>noise </em>would have been like trying to cross her eyes and hold them there for ten minutes without a break.</p><p>So she stared around, eyes slipping, slipping, slipping (into the future?) to the left as she saw but didn't really <em>see</em> any of the men, women, and teenagers clustered on the platform around her. Her eyes hovered on a middle-aged woman gossiping with her friend. Kyo was momentarily given something worth focusing on when she caught the words "...another psychotic breakdown?" from them, vibrations somehow completing the impossible trek from the pair of women to Kyo's eardrums during one of the unpredictable pauses in the chattering noise between them. <em>Good for you, vibrations. Shoot for the stars.</em></p><p>Then, her eyes fell on <em>him</em>. Kyo found herself staring before she even realized she was looking at anyone in particular. He was cute, thuggish. His hair was blond, obviously dyed since his eyebrows were black, and the eyebrows in question terminated just a little too soon, a little too close to the middle of his eyes: the bulk of them were over the inner half of his eyes, giving him a sharp, naturally imposing look that caused a flutter in Kyo's chest as his head turned so that she could see it more clearly. She could just picture those eyebrows and the eyes beneath them sweeping over her nude upper body as she straddled him, and...</p><p>...Oh, oh, oh, no no no. Uncool. Uncool. Uncool. She had been getting so into that daydream that she was letting her mouth hang open! Lame. Lame. Lame. <em>Lame. </em>(So lame.)</p><p>Her eyes took on that deadpan expression and she physically lifted a hand, poking her own jawbone from beneath with a finger to shut her mouth. Her teeth bumped together with a comedic thump — audible only through the bone and tissue of the head attached to them — that put a goofy grin on her face. But it was a nice image, the one she'd conjured in her head just now. Nice, and not one that Kyo'd allowed herself to entertain for quite a... quite a...</p><p>...for quite a while...</p><p>Shit. Shit shit shit shit.</p><p>Her brain had been slow, muddled, distracted. She'd been so preoccupied with the daydream that she hadn't noticed that he had <em>turned his head</em> and had <em>looked right at her </em>just in time to see her prop her own mouth shut with a finger and grin like an idiot. She froze like a deer in headlights. Heat began to creep, creep, creep up her neck and jaw and cheekbone, though she rearranged her face so that it was determinedly flat. He stared at her, bemused. Not able to stop herself, she lifted a hand and waved sarcastically at him to let him know that she'd noticed him looking back.</p><p>He turned, and with a slouch to his stance he strolled right on through the crowd and up to her. Kyo had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes, just the way she'd always had to do with her boyfriend back home...</p><p>"Hey, dude! You go to Shujin, too? I don't think I've seen..." he said congenially, mouth splitting into a energized grin. Then he blinked. "Oh, yikes. I thought you were a dude from over there. Uh, no offense!" He threw up his hands, looking a bit like he expected Kyo to snap at him. Her eyes flicked over the rest of him this time, not just his striking facial features. He looked pretty fit, and in spite of the bright yellow logo shirt beneath the open jacket, he was indeed wearing a Shujin Academy uniform. Kyo's own jacket was buttoned up except for the collar. She looked down at it, slipping the hand she'd waved with back into her pocket.</p><p>He seemed friendly enough<br/>
<em>(and is that a hint of toned pecs peeking out from under the hood there? mm-hmmm, I may have to confirm that for myself sometime...)<br/>
</em>so Kyo decided to let him down easy. The joking reply flowed from her lips with as little mental consideration as the impatient toe-tapping she'd been doing barely a minute before.</p><p>"This uniform is, in reality, cuttin'-edge stealth recon gear," she said seriously. "I'm secretly a government spy. From the future. It's also handy for avoidin' grabby-hands on the train."</p><p>The blond boy snickered, his posture relaxing. "I hope your cutting-edge stealth tech can turn into the girls' uniform, too, 'cause you're gonna catch hell from the guidance counselor when we get to school. Not exactly the way to go incognito, super-spy."</p><p>She shrugged, grinning blandly back at him. She didn't want to advertise to fellow students that she was abusing the principal's self-serving nature to have exceptions made for her, so she said, "Eh, I worked it out when I applied. Special circumstances, y'know."</p><p>The boy's sharp eyebrow quirked up, prompting another flutter. Damn those things, Kyo thought — an evil mastermind such as her daring to do something as girlish as <em>fluttering</em> should be considered a sin worthy of seppuku.</p><p>"Huh," said the boy thoughtfully. "There special circumstances for your hair, too? 'Cause I've been getting shit about mine and it's not even that weird a color."</p><p>"Oh, this's natural!" Kyo laughed automatically, reaching up to tug at the bangs over her left eye... and then freezing. Her face was heating up again. Green hair. Natural. Sexy or not, a guy was a guy, and his mind was probably about to go to exactly one place. And suddenly she wasn't super comfortable with thinking about him thinking about that, since she'd been thinking about that herself without him knowing it and thinking that he might be thinking about it was kind of a mix between annoying and arousing, and...</p><p>"...Wait, really? Cool!" His enthusiastic laugh broke through her rambling thoughts with clear simplicity. Kyo relaxed again. The boy was leaning in a bit closer now, just to take a closer look at her hair. He was tall enough in comparison to her that he could do this without getting close in a way that looked improper from an outside perspective. There were benefits to being a pipsqueak, sometimes.</p><p>After a few seconds, he nodded and said, "Yeah, looks too smooth to be unnatural. Like, I can tell the difference between my hair and someone like Takamaki's just by lookin' at my own head in the mirror."</p><p>He leaned back.</p><p>"So, you're new?" he asked, confidently thumbing his nose. Kyo wondered if that was a posturing thing he might be doing to keep himself in the zone. She'd noticed that a lot of people had little tells like that, when they were subconsciously propping themselves up to avoid their own nerves. She knew she probably had her own tells, but had no idea which tells were tells of that particular thing. It would have helped if she had a third, floating eyeball that she could watch herself with from the outside, but she didn't have one, so why was she even thinking about this and oh god did she already look nervous or attracted because guys swooped in like <em>sharks</em> when girls did that and just eat me now Mr. Sharkboy, because I taste like okonomiyaki it's delicious have you had that before, let me give you a free sample...</p><p>She answered automatically as her brain rambled and the bundle of electric butterflies in her belly flailed against confinement, threatening to burst out of her mouth in a stream of blithering babble. Oh, right, now she remembered. Her tell was that she babbled when she was nervous. Good time to remember that, brain! Great work! A-plus cerebral action! Five frickin' stars! Commented and subscribed! Trending!</p><p>"Yeah, I'm startin' senior year today! Just rolled in from Osaka over the winter."</p><p>She had managed to contain the babbling butterflies. Okay. Okay. Okay. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this. Get motivated!</p><p>"Ohh, so you're an upperclassman!" said the boy, grinning. "Well, senpai, the name's Ryuji Sakamoto. What's yours?"</p><p>Ryuji. Ryuji-kun. Cute name. In a moment of insanity, the allowed herself to revisit the daydream from before, only she added her own voice to it saying his name and oh, look, the camel's back was in bloody splinters all of a sudden. That poor camel, it had died so young. Rest in peace, Cammy the Camel. You will be missed.</p><p>"Kyo Morinaga," she answered in a rush. "But you can call me Kyo. I don't do honorifics unless I'm kissin' up, and I hate kissin' up. I mean, I'm tryin' to do good at school this year so I'll probably use 'em for my teachers and for adults until I have a college degree and a career and I can get away with it, but you're cool and I don't like bein' kissed-up-to either, so you can just call me Kyo and forget the senpai stuff."</p><p>Kyo had to suppress a wince. It hadn't sounded calm even to her own ears. Damn, damn, damn.</p><p>But Ryuji didn't seem to notice. He just looked happy that she was being so open with him. Maybe he was just that tactful. Maybe he was just the kind of guy who was a little oblivious to the signals being sent from the other side of a conversation. If it saved her from embarrassment, Kyo could live with either or both for the day if she had to!</p><p>"Kyo, then, and you call me Ryuji," he said. Then, he looked around the station. "Train should be rolling in any minute, and it's not far to our stop. You have a chance to get a look around the school over break?"</p><p>"I only got the basic layout, when I was in to take my test last week," Kyo answered. She felt herself grow more at ease. Looked like she didn't have to be self-conscious of the little things around this guy. Weird how that made it easier to <em>control</em> the little things, like her babbling <em>brain</em>.</p><p>"Cool! I can show you around a bit at lunch or something, if you want," Ryuji offered easily. "Like, to where the vending machines are and the good spots to have lunch. Seniors are lucky, you're all on the first floor, so you don't need to go far."</p><p>"That's so weird," Kyo snorted. "Every school I've gone to before this has put the younger years down bottom and the older ones up top."</p><p>Ryuji shook his head, grinning with dry humor. He leaned to the side, looking down the tracks. Kyo glanced back to see that the train was sliding into the platform.</p><p>"Shujin's a backwards place, alright," he muttered. Did she detect a hint of something other than humor? She had only been half-paying-attention. In the next moment, she had snatched his arm by the wrist.</p><p>"Gotta be quick if we want two seats next t' each other!" she declared. She would later marvel at how bold she had been about the sudden physical contact in that moment. Scatterbrained she may have been, but when Kyo focused on an objective, she fucking <em>focused </em>on it.</p><p>"Eh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, right!" Ryuji responded.</p><p>Kyo subtly stepped to the side, to about where she expected the door to slide to a stop. She was right on the money: one of the sliding train doors came to a halt one step in front of her, and opened. She dodged to the left, letting the outgoing passengers clear out of the way, then stepped over the threshold at the first clear opening, tugging Ryuji Sakamoto along. Like a hawk snatching up a juicy rabbit, she plopped herself down on a seat and dragged Ryuji along with her. He stumbled a little, but achieved a three-point landing on his butt right next to her. Kyo punched the air.</p><p>"Victory!"</p><p>"It's not such a long ride that getting a seat at <em>this</em> point is much of a victory," snickered Ryuji.</p><p>"A win's a win," Kyo said impishly, turning a grin on Sakamoto. It was at that moment that she realized the error she'd made, because now she and Sakamoto were crammed in pretty close between an armrest and an overweight man in a suit who hadn't had to get off at this stop. Ryuji seemed to notice this at the same time.</p><p>"I'll, uh, I'll just stand," Ryuji said, leaning forward to get to his feet.</p><p>Kyo reacted before she had time to think about it. She reached up and grabbed him by his upper arm, halting his attempt to stand. Ryuji looked at Kyo. Her eyes were determinedly neutral and her lips thin and strained. She experienced another of those infernal flutters. She could feel some pretty respectable muscle under that sleeve, considering he was a year younger than her. <em>He definitely lifts, </em>she thought. And what might that say for the rest of his physique? Best not to let her imagination go wild right at the moment. But what was she going to say to explain grabbing his arm like this?</p><p>Ryuji was staring at her, waiting for an explanation, and surprise at what her hand had inadvertently discovered had dazed her into a silence that had gone on just a little too long to pass off as anything graceful. Her brain screamed, <em>SAY SOMETHING, STUPID! NOW! NOW! NOW!</em></p><p>"I'm, uh, not averse t' sittin' close to a cute guy," she blurted out in a rush, one of the babbling butterflies coming to the forefront. She let go of his arm, and added, "Unless you're already taken, I mean. Wouldn't wanna make whatever lucky girl got t' ya before me jealous. I've still got stuffs and things worth livin' for! Not ready t' give up on this world yet. So, I wouldn't be doin' that if we sat close, would I? Makin' some lucky girl jealous? I hope not. I'd rather <em>be</em> lucky."</p><p>...Ah. Ah, shit. Saying something like that was effectively the same as asking him out. And she hadn't even attended her first day of lessons yet. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crappity-crap-crap. Well... (the feel of Ryuji's arm under her fingers still seemed to tingle in the nerves of her hand) ...there were certainly worse things that could have happened on the way to school.</p><p>Ryuji's eyes widened a fraction, but he leaned back. Then a goofy grin spread across his face, and Kyo couldn't help it. She grinned right back, probably with equal goofiness.</p><p>"If you <em>really </em>don't mind," Ryuji said, voice carrying a hint of suggestion.</p><p>Flutter. Thump-thump. The train began to move. It had filled up while she'd been too distracted to focus on the faceless masses. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in, the better to be heard against the noise of the train as she lowered her voice to something just a touch huskier.</p><p>"With biceps like those? I <em>really</em> don't mind."</p><p>His composure cracked, the goofy grin returning and his face reddening. Kyo slid over a bit, so her hip was in contact with his. His leg-muscles felt nice and firm, too, from what she could tell through the two layers of pant-leg that separated them.</p><p>They stayed that way for the short train ride from Shibuya to Aoyoma-Itchome, which passed in a comfortable haze of casual flirting and small talk. In retrospect, the ride to school probably wouldn't have gone quite as smoothly if either of them had brought up the topic of sports. But volleyball was the farthest thing from Kyo's mind at that moment, and Ryuji became a veritable fountain of energy when he learned that Kyo played video games. Amusement tickled Kyo as he jumped on the topic like a playful little pug puppy into its owner's waiting arms. Boys tended to suddenly like her more when they found out that she was into all the macho action-game stuff that so many other girls rolled their eyes at.</p><p>Kyo would reflect on this, much later, as a very good thing. It was nice to have had that short space of time in which to just be a normal girl for a while, and whenever she thought of Ryuji during the trials that followed, it was that sense of playful fun that she latched onto. It helped to remember that there was still a small island of sanity, somewhere amidst the storm-swept sea, on which she could take refuge and just get away from it all.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"Shujin Academy," Ryuji announced unnecessarily, and with an exaggerated sweep of an arm at the building when it came into view.</p><p>Kyo strolled along next to him, her school bag held over her shoulder as they went with the flow of the students making their collective way toward the front gate. Her left hand, stuffed in the pocket nearest the boy she was walking next to, was practically itching to free itself so it could slip around his arm and pull her body in close to his. But she didn't want to be that blatant about it out in the open at school! At least, not yet. Students tended to jump to conclusions when that was the first impression you made on them. Luckily, Ryuji was a pretty laid-back guy. He didn't seem to have expected her to smother him with public adoration. Might not've been the most subtle about noticing things, but Kyo's impression of him was that he was smart in his way, just casual and rough about talking to people.</p><p>Casual and rough...</p><p>She shivered, and forced herself to dislodge that thought so she could focus on school. Luckily she was a little behind Ryuji and he didn't see this. <em>Jeez, though. I feel fourteen again...</em></p><p>"I'll be headin' to the faculty office t' meet my homeroom teacher. Then it's off t' be introduced t' class," Kyo said. "Let me know which room you're in as soon as ya know, yeah? But don't text me in class. I'll be sittin' near the front if I can. So I won't be able t' answer without bein' seen, and my first impression of Ushimaru-sensei is, me and him ain't gonna like each other much."</p><p>Ryuji blanched. "Your homeroom teacher's <em>Ushimaru</em>? Right, I won't text you in class, then. I wouldn't want to be responsible for you getting concussed by a flying stick of chalk."</p><p>Kyo grimaced, and brought up her still-tingling free hand to rub at her head. She'd had a teacher like that at her previous school. It didn't matter how many times she proved that she was paying attention or answered questions correctly... she'd still get beaned with chalk if she zoned out too obviously. She'd gotten better at spacing out without looking like she was spacing out, but once you were on a teacher's shit list, you were on a teacher's shit list.</p><p>"Thanks for the warnin'," she said sourly. The pair of them came level with the front gate, and followed the influx of students up toward the front door. Behind her, Kyo heard a whisper:</p><p>"Wait, that's a girl! I thought it was some punk Sakamoto was slumming with over break..."</p><p>A boy, surprised and suspicious. A girl answered him, in a scandalized murmur.</p><p>"So that's the kind of girl he's into, huh? She probably <em>likes </em>those kinds of bad-boy personalities," said Gossip Girl Ninety-Seven-Hundred-and-Two. "She's going to get in so much trouble when the teachers see her wearing the wrong uniform..."</p><p>Ryuji tensed, gritting his teeth as if he wanted to turn around and tell the two of them to shut their mouths. Kyo sighed. Hoping to avoid a big scene, she tilted her head back, and said in a voice loud enough to carry to the two students behind her:</p><p>"She's got ears. They're fully functional. They can even pick up voices from three feet away! Found 'em in the bargain bin up at Junes. Glad t' know they work!"</p><p>The two students behind her went abruptly, utterly silent. Kyo shook her head and snorted, not bothering to look back to see their expressions. Ryuji turned amused eyes on her once they were inside the building, slowing to a stop at the intersection between hallway and staircase. Kyo stuffed her hand back in her pocket and smirked at him, tilting her head to the side so her hair fell out of the way of her left eye.</p><p>"You're used people talking about you, huh?" Ryuji guessed.</p><p>"You've got a 'bad boy personality,' huh?" Kyo retorted, lips twitching in amusement. "Sexy."</p><p>"So you <em>are</em> into that?" Ryuji laughed, putting his hand to his mouth. "That explains a lot."</p><p>Kyo moved to walk by him and gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Text me your homeroom when you get it and I'll see ya at lunch," she said.</p><p>Ryuji nodded, turning to walk away. But...</p><p>"Kyo-san! Good to see you've made it on time," a familiar voice sounded clearly, cutting across his comfortable goodbye before he could give her one.</p><p>Kyo blinked, and would have looked around right away except that it was <em>really obvious</em> how tense Ryuji was this time. She frowned at him, noting how his slouching shoulders tightened up, and how he immediately hid his hands in his pockets. It was like he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself into balling them into fists if he didn't.</p><p>"Kamoshida," he said evenly, his face hard.</p><p>"Sakamoto," returned the volleyball coach. Kyo looked over her shoulder at him, then at Ryuji, then at Kamoshida again. His chin was every bit as cartoonish as she remembered it being.</p><p>"Hey again, Coach," she said blandly, withdrawing that hand again to give him a wave. "Tryout date set yet?"</p><p>"That's what I was hoping to talk to you about," Kamoshida said with a grin. "Have you come to a decision about joining the volleyball team yet?"</p><p>Ryuji stiffened still further. Kyo pretended not to notice it, but she was absolutely certain Kamoshida must have. He wasn't reacting to it. It was like he was deliberately ignoring Ryuji.</p><p>"I was gonna check if I can find any o' the members o' the team and see if we get along first," Kyo said. "I figure it'd go smoother if me bein' there ain't a source o' tension, y'know."</p><p>"Oh, that won't matter. I'll make sure of it," Kamoshida said with easy confidence. His eyes turned to Ryuji at last. "You should be getting to homeroom, Sakamoto."</p><p>Kyo didn't turn to check on Ryuji yet, but the hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She could feel the tension positively <em>radiating</em> off of the boy she had spent her extremely pleasant and easy-going morning with. Kamoshida, meanwhile, looked completely unfazed. Why was that?</p><p>"Yeah, right," Ryuji said stiffly, turning to head up the stairs to the second floor. "See you at lunch, Kyo."</p><p>"Back atcha, Ryuji-kun," Kyo answered with as much cheer as she could honestly inject into her voice, burying her concern where neither the boy nor the coach could see or hear it. She hoped that giving Ryuji a spirited sendoff would ease whatever dislike had welled up in response to Kamoshida's entrance. Kamoshida's entrance. Kamoshida, who was so at ease, so... so at... so at ease...</p><p>...</p><p>
  <em>Whatever happened between them, and something definitely DID happen, Kamoshida is the one in a position of power. And Ryuji is the one who's... frustrated. Powerless. Yes. That's what I was seeing right now. Ryuji wants to do something, and Kamoshida knows he can't. What's the story here, then...?</em>
</p><p>"It's good to see you making friends already," Kamoshida said casually. "You might want to be careful with that one, though. He's got a reputation as a troublemaker. I can't say whether or not he's ever hurt a girl, of course, but... honestly, with his type... ah, but I'm saying things a teacher shouldn't say."</p><p>Kyo looked back to Kamoshida. Her jaw tightened, but she relaxed it with an effort of will. She wanted to snap at him, bite his head off. But she didn't know what grounds he had to make that claim about Ryuji. So instead she shrugged, and said, "I'm a big girl, and I know where to put my knee if a guy gets fresh with me. So, about the girls on the team. I'm sure you can keep 'em in line, but I'd still feel better about talkin' to one or two before makin' a final decision. Ya feel me?"</p><p>Kamoshida put a hand to his chin, thinking. "That sounds reasonable. Tryouts are this Wednesday, though, so I suggest you make your decision fast."</p><p>"Whoa, Wednesday? <em>This </em>Wednesday? That soon?!" Kyo blurted out, straightening up. She almost forgot her concern for Ryuji in that moment of panic. Almost.</p><p>"That's right," Kamoshida said. "As for who you could talk to... hm. I'm sure Suzui would be willing to give you some of her time. I can tell her to meet you outside your homeroom after school. We won't have practice until tryouts are over with, so she's got a bit of free time on her hands."</p><p>One name? Was that all Kamoshida had for her? There was something abstractly, indecipherably <em>wrong</em> about that, a faint red flag waving in her mind, but she had no idea what it was. Maybe Ryuji's attitude toward the man just now had stirred a pinch of paranoia into her good mood. But the only way to know for sure was to go along with Kamoshida's suggestion.</p><p>"Sounds cool," she said, deciding not to mention that she was planning to hang out with Ryuji after school if she had time: Kamoshida would probably warn her off it. "If it's no trouble for Suzui-san, I'd like to talk to her."</p><p>"Alright, then I'll set that up," Kamoshida said. "Now, you should head to the faculty room. I've already told your teacher that I was looking to have a word with you, so he won't give you any trouble for being a bit late."</p><p>"You're a thoughtful guy, Coach," Kyo said cheerfully, setting off for the faculty office and giving him a wave as she passed. "Thanks for makin' a rough-lookin' prospect like me feel so welcome!"</p><p>"Don't you worry about any naysayers, Kyo-san," Kamoshida returned, returning her wave. "This school will see your value soon enough."</p><p>Kyo made a show of looking like she appreciated this sentiment, though it rang hollow, cliché to the point of meaningless in her mind. She turned away, and stuffed her hand back in her pocket. <em>He sounds so confident that I'll decide to join his team,</em> she thought. <em>And it seems like he's going out of his way to make it happen. The school can't be </em>that <em>short on players worth a damn, can it?</em></p><p>Well, whatever. It was time to go meet Ushimaru-stick-up-the-butt-sensei... she didn't think he was the type who'd appreciate being kept waiting much longer, no matter what Kamoshida had told him.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Kyo's first impression of Ushimaru hadn't done the man justice. He didn't just have a stick up his butt; it was an entire crosswalk street-post, traffic signals and "No Turn On Red" sign included. The man kept a respectful air about him, but was quick to launch into a mini-lecture about how Shujin Academy was an institution for those who took their futures seriously. The only thing that would have made it worse was if he had also been outspoken about keeping his students pure of unclean influence and the girls safe from those abusive, evil male children. Fortunately, no school would hire someone <em>that </em>blatant and obnoxious about it... right?</p><p>...Right?</p><p>Ushimaru wound down from whatever he'd been saying as they approached classroom 3-2. Kyo had tuned him out, but (she thought ruefully) knew that her memory for verbal information was so good that she could probably quote his rantings back at him if given a few good seconds to recall it. She looked to Ushimaru as they approached the door, hitching her bag up over her shoulder more comfortably.</p><p>"How should I introduce myself?" Kyo asked. "Does Shujin have a routine for that?"</p><p>"Just your name and a greeting will be fine," the bespectacled man said, giving her the dullest answer possible.</p><p>He was like a cardboard cutout that could talk, she thought. But of course that was his answer. He wanted her to make as little a spectacle of herself as she could manage. Lost cause, really. She didn't even have to open her mouth to get people talking about her. If gossip had been a winter flurry in Osaka, it was a pelting hailstorm here at Shujin. She'd passed three more whisperers on her way to the faculty office, but since Ryuji hadn't been there to care about it, she'd had no reason to care about it, either.</p><p>Kyo focused on the classroom. She could see the students that she'd be spending the year with through the window in the wall sitting at their desks, some absorbed in conversation, a few looking at her curiously. One, at the very front, was reading a paperback book. Kyo was too far away to see the title.</p><p>The building, at least, was built in an open, airy kind of way. Even if she was stuck with an annoying homeroom teacher, the atmosphere on its own was a step up from her previous school. Not only could the people at the far window seats enjoy a view of the outdoors, but those on the other side of the room had a view of the courtyard through the adjacent window on the other side of the hallway. Good golly, it was like they <em>wanted</em> to tempt students to ignore lectures. Anime Protagonist Chairs. Anime Protagonist Chairs <em>everywhere</em>.</p><p>Ushimaru opened the door and preceded her into the room. She followed. The eyes of her classmates were already tracking her, since they'd been able to see her in the hall. She kept herself relaxed and wore a nice, social smile. No sense making a bad impression if she wanted to have a good academic year. Besides, Kyo was sort of hoping to find a study buddy. She'd given it a lot of thought over the course of the week and figured she'd remember things easier if there was someone to help, someone who could repeat information back at her.</p><p>The teacher assumed his spot at the head of the room and Kyo took up her expected position next to him, surveying the class. This homeroom seemed to be a bit short on students: there were no less than four open desks. Oh, and... jackpot! One of them was front-row-center, next to that lithe-looking girl with the red eyes, the one she'd noticed reading a book before. Red eyes? Or were they brown? Hard to tell from here. They looked red, but it might have been something the light from the window was doing. Where had the book gone? She'd stowed that away as soon as Ushimaru walked into the room, it looked like.</p><p>"Everyone, settle down. You may address me as Ushimaru-sensei. I will be your homeroom teacher for the year," Ushimaru began to drone beside her. Kyo's eyes locked on to the red-eyed girl's. Red. They were definitely red, and they were scrutinizing her carefully, eyebrows just a touch furrowed. Ah. This girl was confused about the boy's uniform and the hair, Kyo was sure. At least she had the good grace to sit straight in her chair, hands folded, paying attention. But she also didn't look away when Kyo's eyes found hers.</p><p>So Kyo gave her a smile. The red-eyed girl seemed to be considering her for a second, and then she smiled right back. So Red-Eyes was friendly, then, or tried to be. Kyo could work with that. She <em>had</em> told Ryuji that she was hoping to sit in the front. Maybe this could be that study buddy? She had attentiveness down...</p><p>"...but before that," Ushimaru's voice filtered back into her brain, "I would like to introduce a transfer student to you all, here to complete her final year at Shujin Academy. Please make her feel welcome."</p><p>Kyo kept her eyes on the girl in front. In her peripherals, she had been able to see them leaning in toward each other, trying to whisper without looking like they were whispering. They were rude, and this girl was not. It was simple! So Kyo decided that, in passive-aggressive retaliation to the rest of them, she was going to introduce herself only to Little Miss Red-Eye and see how many of them were observant enough to tell that she'd done so.</p><p>She grinned, relaxed her stance, and said, "Hey-o! The name's Kyo. Kyo Morinaga. I've just rolled in all the way from Kansai, so please take care o' me, or whatever the polite thing t' say is. I'm meanin' to really step up my game for this year's exams, so I'm lookin' forward to learnin' all there is t' learn from these classes together."</p><p>Surprisingly, a chorus sounded: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Morinaga-san!" "Good to meet you, Morinaga-san!" and similar. It looked like no one but the red-eyed girl had noticed how specifically this greeting had been directed and worded. She looked surprised, but whatever else she was feeling or thinking or suspecting, she kept it off her face. The very picture of poise, that one.</p><p>Ushimaru looked over at his charge sharply, but Kyo pretended not to notice. She'd gone a bit beyond a name and a greeting, but there had been nothing in there that a teacher had any reason to be critical of. So he just cleared his throat.</p><p>"Morinaga-san has been granted a few special exceptions due to health-related circumstances," Ushimaru spoke up, as sternly as he ever said anything; he probably even sounded like he was scolding people when he commented on the weather. "Due to an uncomfortable genetic skin condition, she has been given permission to wear the boy's uniform. This is not to be taken as permission for any other student to go against our institution's dress code..."</p><p>Kyo's eyes involuntarily went deadpan. Genetic skin condition? That was the best this guy could do? Suddenly, Kyo felt a swooping urge to burst out laughing. Maybe it <em>was</em> good that she'd scored herself a hot stud before the first day of class had started. She'd need to come clean to Ryuji about the reason for the special permission, of course. Wouldn't want Ryuji getting any funny ideas about what was going on with her legs, or anything else down there.</p><p>"...and we have been provided medical documentation which confirms that Morinaga-san's hair color is natural..."</p><p>"Whoa, really? That's cool!"</p><p>"It's <em>weird</em>. Is that another health problem...?"</p><p>"I've heard people's skin can turn orange if they eat too many carrots... maybe she's just, like, hardcore vegan...?"</p><p>Kyo's deadpan stare turned to the ceiling. The whispers were a bit carrying now. "Settle down, settle down," droned Ushimaru's voice. "Morinaga-san, please take the second seat from the right in the third — "</p><p>"Actually, can I take the one in front? Does that belong t' anyone?" Kyo interjected, looking to Ushimaru. He looked irritable at having been interrupted mid-sentence, so she held up her lone free hand in, approximating the disembodied one-half of a praying gesture. "Please, sir? I really wanna focus on learnin' what I need for my entrance exams..."</p><p>Ushimaru huffed out a breath, presumably meant to expel his irritation at her from his system, Yoga-style. "No, it hasn't been taken. Have a seat."</p><p>"Thanks, sensei! You're the coolest," she lied, and crossed the distance between Ushimaru's podium and front row in three energetic strides.</p><p>She set her bag down behind her chair, slid into it, and glanced at the girl who was sitting to her left. Red-Eyes stared back, speculative, lips downturned in the same way Kyo usually saw on her own face in the mirror when she was trying to figure something out. She'd seen it in the mirror a lot this past week, while trying to guess at what function that weird app on her phone might be designed for.</p><p>Kyo gave her a nod in greeting, and a grin. Red-Eyes looked like she might be about to speak, but Ushimaru launched right on into the customary list of start-of-school-year ho-hum-humbuggery.</p><p>Red-Eyes straightened, instantly on task, even though there wasn't really a task worth tasking about. Kyo tried to look like she was paying attention, too, but tilted her head forward a bit, so that she could peek at the other girl through the curtain of hair on that side. Red-Eyes was very pretty, in a way that suggested she was meticulous with her health and appearance. Her hair had quite the improbable braid job going on, complimenting a short, neat-cut style that was trimmed in an elegant bob around the back of her neck. The braid was probably a braided hairband, but if Kyo had any eye for those things, she'd have said it looked natural rather than synthetic. It perfectly matched the color of the hair beneath. Kyo wondered if Red-Eyes had made that hairband herself, by hand.</p><p>So, attentive. Meticulous with her appearance, and probably with her health. Polite, it seemed — she had definitely been about to speak to Kyo and the look on her face suggested she'd at least meant to make a civil introduction. Also, on a cruder note: hips. Good ones. The boys were probably drawing straws to see who got to strike out asking her on a date next.</p><p>So why had the spot next to her in the middle two rows been <em>empty</em>? Based on what she could read of Little Miss Red-Eyes, there should have been a friend there, or a male admirer... or a female admirer, or just someone else who wanted a front-row seat. That this seat was empty suggested that people were deliberately keeping distance. Or maybe that Red-Eyes had deliberately chosen a spot where she had an empty seat next to her after everyone else had already sat down, although Kyo figured that last was unlikely to be the case in the front row. Or maybe she had asked that whoever had been sitting there choose another seat, perhaps to keep it open for the incoming transfer student? That sounded plausible. Perhaps Red-Eyes was the responsible, helpful type.</p><p>It could have been any of those things. There was no way to pin it down without asking.</p><p>When Ushimaru finished up, he immediately declared that they were to line up and head to the gymnasium for the start-of-year assembly. Whatever accolades Shujin Academy might have going for it, and for as nice as the building itself was, Kyo figured that the space afforded it by the cluster of Tokyo architecture boxing it in must have been too limited to fit a stand-alone assembly hall. So it would be folding chairs and a stage worthy of a cheap otaku convention panel. Not that Kyo cared much. But she knew it would mean being packed in to almost the same extent as it had on the train, unless the gym was especially roomy. Still, it would give her a chance to talk to Red-Eyes a bit and see what she could learn about her.</p><p>Her desk-neighbor appeared to have had the same idea. When Kyo stood, Red-Eyes turned elegantly to face her from the other side of their pair of desks.</p><p>"I'm very pleased to meet you, Morinaga-san," she said carefully. "Thank you for introducing yourself to me. My name is Makoto Niijima."</p><p>The words <em>to me</em> had a very, very slight verbal emphasis. Kyo scratched the back of her neck, figuring a bit of contrition was only the right thing to do after singling Makoto out so boldly. It hadn't been Makoto's fault that the other seniors were thoughtless, amateur rumor-mongers.</p><p>"It's good t' meet you, too!" she said, stepping around the desk and moving to stand in line. Makoto followed right behind her, so Kyo looked over her shoulder and continued their budding conversation. "Sorry if that seemed a bit weird. You were the only one I could see that wasn't gossipin' like a schoolgirl, so... I guess I was feelin' a bit grateful-slash-vindictive at the time."</p><p>Kyo did, at least, lower her voice so that no one around them would here it. She didn't really want to antagonize anyone. Makoto raised her eyebrows, but there was a hint of a smile as she said:</p><p>"We <em>are</em> schoolgirls, Morinaga-san."</p><p>Kyo chuckled, and as the line got moving couldn't resist snickering a bit more.</p><p>"Well, <em>yeah</em>, but come on. People should have at least enough self-awareness t' notice when they're actin' like cartoon characters... it's embarrassin'. I feel embarrassed for 'em. Can't even be mad."</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Makoto Niijima's eyes remained on Kyo Morinaga's back the entire way to the assembly. Morinaga, who had stuffed both hands into her pockets, moved and spoke almost like a boy... the kind of boy that was more likely to be lurking by the vending machines outside the school gate when class let out, shooting the breeze with his equally lax friends and ragging on them for being turned down by whichever pretty girl in their homeroom class currently had a "Challenge" named after them. And that was if Makoto kept her assumptions as diplomatic as they could be.</p><p>Or at least, that had been her first impression, when she'd seen this girl chatting with Sakamoto on the train platform. But the reality appeared quite different. Makoto certainly hadn't expected Morinaga's first words to the class to be about how she wanted to do well in school this year in preparation for entrance exams. Just how genuine was that supposed drive to succeed? And had Makoto been right to guess that there was an implied, unspoken implication that Morinaga <em>hadn't</em> put in such an effort before this year?</p><p>Evidently her drive to succeed was not genuine enough to adhere to the dress code, Makoto thought tartly. She had taken note of the look on Morinaga's face when Ushimaru had announced that. If the transfer student truly had a skin condition so serious that she needed to wear different clothes to be comfortable, Makoto would eat her hairband.</p><p>The strange hair color being natural was a little easier for Makoto to swallow. But that was only because her older sister, Sae, had a somewhat rare hair pigmentation of her own, albeit hers was gray, not something as ludicrous as green. Makoto was pretty sure she could see something in Kyo's hair that reminded her of some quality that Sae's had. A subtle aspect to the texture, perhaps, that wouldn't have been there if the hair had been artificially colored. Makoto knew there were hair coloring methods designed to appear natural, but she'd never heard of it being done for anything besides than the usual suspects. Black, brown, blonde, ginger...</p><p>They entered the gymnasium. Makoto mentally listed off potential reasons that someone might single her out and try to make nice with her. She was campaigning to become the Student Council President, so perhaps Morinaga thought she could cozy up to the Student Council through her. She'd had more than her share of people who wanted to be on the Council just to have it listed on their college applications, and had long since run out of patience for them. Makoto smiled to herself as she sat down and saw, out of the corner of her eye, Morinaga leaning back in the chair next to her, this time on Makoto's left instead of her right as she had been in the classroom. The curtain of hair could not shield Morinaga's eyes from Makoto in here.</p><p>Makoto had noticed Morinaga peeking at her through that hair before they had left, sizing her up while Ushimaru made his announcements. There was intelligence in Morinaga's eyes. A spark. Something calculating, but not in a way that Makoto instinctively disliked. It was intriguing, in fact, in that <em>this</em> reminded Makoto of her sister, too.</p><p>The same intelligent spark turned on her now as Morinaga, lounging in her chair in spite of how close together everyone was, looked to Makoto with a grin. As Morinaga was about to speak there was a buzz, from her vibrating mobile phone. Morinaga diverted her attention from Makoto only for the few seconds it check it. Makoto stole a discreet glance at the device as Morinaga slid a finger across one of the bottom buttons and quickly tapped out a response to whoever had text-messaged her.</p><p>It was a nice phone. Clearly, this girl was well-provided-for.</p><p>"That was just my... boyfriend?" Morinaga said, pausing on an uncertain question-mark before completing her explanation. "...He was just lettin' me know which homeroom to meet him at so we can have lunch together."</p><p>"You have a boyfriend?" Makoto inquired.</p><p><em>Sakamoto?</em> she thought, but didn't say. Morinaga <em>had</em> led Sakamoto into the train by hand, which was suggestive in itself. But Makoto had boarded a different car, so she hadn't seen anything concrete that suggested the two were a couple. Surely Morinaga was smarter than the kind of girl that would date someone who had done what Sakamoto had. Or had Makoto misjudged her? She decided to poke for more information.</p><p>So, after a pause to think about it, she asked: "Have you been seeing each other long?"</p><p>Kyo snorted. "No, he just kinda fell inta my lap this mornin'. Maybe they are stud magnets."</p><p>Stud magnets? What were stud magnets? Makoto felt her face scrunch up in an involuntary scandalized expression, forgetting to devote brain-power to whether this mystery boyfriend was Sakamoto or not.</p><p>"Morinaga-san, we're in public. Please do not talk about..." She trailed off, feeling her face redden a little. "...<em>those</em> in the middle of the assembly hall."</p><p>Morinaga stared at her, clearly nonplussed. Makoto was just beginning to doubt her interpretation of the other girl's words, when Morinaga put a fist to her mouth and chuckled, immediately confirming said doubt with a clarification:</p><p>"I meant these," she said, pointing to her belly rather than her chest. "I'm really proud of 'em. C'mon, girl. How crass d'you think I am, really?"</p><p>There was a teasing tone to Morinaga's question that had the strange effect of easing the tension that had built up in Makoto's shoulders and neck in the last five seconds.</p><p>"Oh. I see. I apologize," Makoto said, sincerely. "I mistook your meaning. But in my defense, your wording was a <em>bit</em> suggestive."</p><p>Morinaga nodded, waving off Makoto's apology. "Sorry, it was a bit of an... eh, out-of-context private joke related to a conversation I had earlier this week. You had no way of gettin' it, but my mouth runs faster'n my brain, sometimes."</p><p>Makoto smiled. It was such an earnest, open admission of a personal flaw that she couldn't help forgiving it.</p><p>Principal Kobayakawa stepped up onto the stage then; Makoto automatically re-assumed her straight-backed, attentive position. It was easier to commit to listening to Kobayakawa than to Ushimaru. Ushimaru had a way of sounding like he was talking down to the students. But Kobayakawa, even if most of what he said fell under a generic umbrella category of high school authority jargon, at least had a knack for projecting charisma, and understanding. Even if what both teachers said tended toward the shallow side, Kobayakawa felt more sincere.</p><p>Makoto heard Morinaga sigh and mutter something next to her:</p><p>"Here we go... the Kingpin o' Kiss-ups takes the friggin' stage..."</p><p>The other girl's voice was low enough that Makoto was half-certain she hadn't been meant to hear it.</p><p>Kingpin of Kiss-ups? Makoto put her hand to her chin, wondering what Principal Kobayakawa could possibly have said or done to have earned such a disparaging nickname in the mind of a transfer student who hadn't even been attending Shujin for an hour yet. She had only just been thinking that Kobayakawa seemed sincere. This was an upsetting notion to consider, but it was always possible that Morinaga had seen a side to the man that he didn't normally show students. She watched, paying careful attention to his mannerisms as he spoke, to the tone and cadence of his voice. As the speech progressed, she found that she could see flickers and glimmers of something that might have fit Morinaga's nickname for him.</p><p>Yes, she admitted to herself. There certainly was something artificial in the personable nature he projected. She could imagine Principal Kobayakawa using false pleasantry to gain favor with someone if he believed it would increase his standing, or the standing of the school. It wasn't as if this was an unusual or automatically objectionable quality in a man whose job was to act in the best interests of the school and its reputation, but she did like to think that the man in charge of their educations was more genuine and invested than that.</p><p>An upsetting notion to consider, indeed.</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p>...</p><p><em>Oh!</em> Makoto thought, eyes widening as the penny dropped. <em>Kingpin! As in Wilson Fisk, from the Marvel comics! I understand that reference! ...Morinaga-san reads American comics?</em></p><p>Makoto filed that possibility away for later. Perhaps she could use it as an ice-breaker when there was time to talk.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>This time Makoto didn't notice it when Kyo peeked in her direction. The transfer student most certainly <em>had</em> meant for Makoto to hear her griping. Kyo'd been interested to see if her desk-neighbor was the kind of naive goody-two-shoes student who'd unflinchingly speak up to defend authority figures with no proof to back her defense up. Apparently not. Just with that, Makoto gained a few more points in Kyo's reckoning of her.</p><p>But this wasn't what she'd expected to see, either. Makoto seemed to be watching the principal carefully. No... she seemed to be analyzing him, reading him. Trying to judge whether he might or might not be what Kyo had said, perhaps.</p><p>It wasn't often that Kyo met someone as sharp as this girl.</p><p>Kyo looked away, sweeping the cluster of heads in front of her with her eyes before Makoto had a chance to notice that Kyo was staring in her direction. There was Ryuji Sakamoto, sitting pretty far to the side but further up in front, with the second-year students. A girl with eye-catching blonde hair tied up in glamorous pigtails sat a row behind and about ten chairs to the left of him. And, oh, up front, to the side with some faculty members... Volleyball Coach Suguru Kamoshida, He of the Most Magnanimous and Magnificent Man-Chin.</p><p>Kamoshida seemed to be gazing fixedly at a specific face in the crowd of students. Interesting. Kyo tried to follow his eyes, but it was awkward at this angle. But maybe Kyo had been imagining it. Kamoshida's expression was neutral, good-natured enough. There was nothing suspicious about it at all. She was sure that whoever or whatever Kamoshida had his eyes on was nowhere near Ryuji, though, one way or another. So, eh. None of her business.</p><p>Kyo returned her attention to the principal and thought no more of it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 1-4: The Melancholy of Shiho Suzui</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>To him, it was "privilege."</p><p>To you, it was a story that tugged your heartstrings.</p><p>To the Phantom Thieves, it was an innocent life worth avenging.</p><p>To her, it was the face looking back at her out of the bathroom mirror every morning while she brushed her teeth.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Three -<br/>"The Melancholy of Shiho Suzui"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>T</strong>he last half-year or so had altered Shiho Suzui's attitude toward sleep.</p><p>Once upon a time, she had been a morning person. Waking up had been a pleasant, relaxing wind-up — she would hit the ground running for the rest of the day and expend so much energy on whatever she did, talking, hanging out, practicing volleyball... and then she would flump onto her cheap mattress with a contented sigh and let sleep carry her off to the next glorious sunrise.</p><p>These days, sleep was an escape she was loath to release her hold on. <em>These</em> days, she collapsed face-first into her bed, often forgetting to change out of her uniform. She would wake with a groan, roll over, and try to smother herself back into unconsciousness with her pillow, ignoring the beeping of the alarm that insisted on telling her it was time to get a move on. It never worked. The smothering never worked. And it didn't work on the morning of April 4th, either.</p><p>Sliding out from under the covers, Shiho looked around her compact bedroom. Her bleary eyes came to rest on the picture that hung on the wall to her right. A picture of the girls' volleyball team after their last win... after winning the last big game of the school year... they were standing and kneeling beside and in front of each other. The central figure and most dominant presence was not one of the girls, not one of the star players, but a man. Muscular, with a prominent square chin. Kamoshida.</p><p>Shiho saw herself down on one knee in front of him, smiling into the camera. Down on one knee. Down, kneeling. Kneeling —</p><p>She wrenched her eyes away from the picture and flung herself out of bed, calling on this sudden burst of motion to jolt her body and brain toward awakeness. She refused to let her mind's eye return to what she saw in that photo. It was the first day of school, but tryouts weren't until Wednesday, so it would be another two days until she had to face it again. The time away had almost even convinced her that she could forget, that she could just keep practicing, endure the injuries, and ride it out until she made it onto a college team and within sight of her goal.</p><p>But she couldn't take that picture down from the wall yet. Her mother would ask why, if she did it so soon. So she would keep it there, for at least another month, and then she would cajole Ann into taking some picture with her somewhere while they were hanging out. She would replace the photo of the team with one of her and Ann. Then she would have a happy image to wake up to, and wouldn't have to be reminded about it so early in the damn morning.</p><p>One invigorating shower later, just a quick rinse-off in preparation for the day (since she was bound to work up a sweat at practice most days, she made a point to wash up properly in the afternoons), Shiho was out the door. Since the commute took her mother all the way across the city, Shiho was almost always alone in the mornings: either her mother was at work, or her mother was sleeping in. Her mother worked on Sundays, so they saw very little of each other. Her mother had still taken off of work to watch the big match, though, in spite of her money problems.</p><p>The look of happiness, of pride, on her mother's face when they'd won, when Shiho herself had scored the winning point at the very end. Shiho told herself that it was worth what she had done, whenever she remembered that image. She almost believed that now, too.</p><p>She kept her eyes determinedly focused on her bed after she returned from the shower, already having changed into her uniform. She kept her eyes from drifting to the photo while she made the bed, and forced herself to turn them straight to the tiny, secondhand vanity in the corner when she slid her knees off the mattress and moved on to touching up her eyes with mascara. She didn't do make-up the same way that Ann did, only a very little bit of it — so little that it almost looked as if she wasn't using any — but she still liked the way her face looked while she had it on. Besides, using it up in such small quantities meant spending less money on it, so she could justify the expense to herself this way.</p><p>Shiho scarfed down a small breakfast and headed out the door. She didn't particularly want to rush into her first day at school, but the sooner she got on the train to Shujin, the sooner she would see Ann. When she was with Ann, she almost believed that everything would be okay.</p><p>Shiho almost believed a lot of stuff, lately. Someday she hoped to graduate beyond "almost" believing things.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>A train was taken, texts were exchanged. Ann had overslept and that injected a bit of humor into the morning as Shiho ragged on her via SMS. Then Shiho experienced a scare on the first train about ten minutes before her stop, something that felt like a hand brushing up against her thigh. It nearly gave her a heart attack. She'd burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter at her own frayed nerves when she realized it had only been another female student's purse, and had gotten some weird looks for it.</p><p>Wouldn't it just be great, Shiho thought, if after everything else... she ended up in one of those train-groper situations? Would have been just swell. It was something she could have reported to the police, though, at least. Since it was unlikely that any sexual predators lurking on the morning train had won themselves Olympic gold medals. That almost made it an appealing scenario in her mind, after the fact. Gosh, but her sense of humor was getting <em>dark</em> lately.</p><p>That thought probably should have sent her mood spiraling downward, but instead she kept breaking out into restrained, silent giggles while she waited for Ann to meet her at Shibuya Station for the change-over. It was during one of these suppressed laughing fits that someone approached her from the right.</p><p>"Good morning, Suzui-san," a polite and familiar voice greeted.</p><p>Shiho stuffed her knuckles up against her lips and looked at the speaker. It so happened to be Makoto Niijima, one of the upperclassmen who'd put their names forward as candidates for Student Council President.</p><p>"Good morning, Niijima-senpai," Shiho responded with a bright smile. It was warm and genuine, fueled by her inexplicable good humor. "How was your break?"</p><p>"It was lovely," Makoto said. "My sister even managed to find time to go to the movies with me, as a reward for my score on the exam. We saw <em>Tenshi ni 'I'm Fine'</em> together. It was quite good."</p><p>Though Makoto was the poised and restrained type, Shiho could tell that she had been happy to spend time with her sister-who-was-also-her-guardian. Sae Niijima was a public prosecutor, and was nearly as busy as Shiho's own mother. The only differences were that Sae made more money (but not enough to do more than support her sister comfortably) and had managed to find an apartment within easy travel distance of the prosecutor's office and courts. Though Shiho and Makoto only spoke to each other on occasion, Shiho felt a certain kinship with the girl. Academic performance and the prospect of attending a good college seemed to be for Makoto what volleyball was to Shiho, and they both lived alone with single, working women who had to support them...</p><p>
  <em>I envy you, though, that the people in charge of those things you dream of aren't inclined to make you beg for them.</em>
</p><p>Another thought that should have tanked her mood, but for some reason more giggles forced their way up. She had to repress them, pressing her fist to her closed mouth again. Makoto tilted her head just a little to the side.</p><p>"Is something funny, Suzui-san?" she asked. There was no hint that she thought the joke was on her; it was a simple, curious question.</p><p>Shiho coughed to clear her throat and still the giggles, composing herself. "I've just been laughing at a joke that one of my teammates told me in a text a minute ago," she said. "I'd tell it to you, but it's kind of an in-joke. Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude, senpai."</p><p>Lying had become so easy in the last six months that Shiho barely realized she was doing it anymore. The easier it became, the less aware of the lies that Shiho was when she told them, the less people seemed to suspect anything. And as she noticed that, lying became still easier in turn. A self-fueling process, like some kind of chemical fire burning away her sincerity. Some nights, while she lay in bed, Shiho wondered to herself if one day she would become one of those pathological liars, purely by virtue of having forgotten what honesty feels like. She almost couldn't remember what it felt like even now.</p><p>Makoto's response was so good-natured that it hurt to see. She looked like her mood had been boosted by Shiho's apparently cheer.</p><p>"I suppose you're waiting for Takamaki-san?" Makoto prompted, turning to look up and down the platform. "I'm surprised not to see her. She's usually already here chatting with you."</p><p>"She forgot to set her alarm clock for school, the silly goof," Shiho answered, shaking her head. "It was my first text of the morning that woke her up. So she's rushing out the door with toast in her mouth like an anime character. I wish I'd been there, so I could snap a photo."</p><p>Makoto laughed at the mental image. Shiho knew that Makoto read manga, so the trope was as deeply ingrained for her as it was for anyone else. A lot of people seemed to think Makoto was some stuck-up model student, too good for any passtime less cultured than the kind of novel assigned as homework in Classic Lit. But Shiho knew better. Makoto liked a lot of the same things that other teenagers did, she just didn't allow herself to take as much time off for it. Shiho had run into her at the movies once. Makoto had been there to see a detective thriller, and Shiho a sports film; they'd talked a little at the snack bar about what they were looking forward to in their chosen movies. Makoto was nice to talk to when one got past that almost cold exterior of politeness and authority.</p><p>So why was it that Makoto seemed so ignorant of what was going on when it mattered most?</p><p>There was a reason that Shiho had never made a point to do more than exchange occasional small talk with Makoto. Talking with the older girl felt like banging on a window, screaming for help, and not being seen or heard because the window was a one-way mirror and the glass had been soundproofed. Makoto couldn't see what she was feeling. Couldn't see what she was going through. Couldn't know. Shiho couldn't blame her for it. But it was stifling. Suffocating. Makoto was the public prosecutor's little sister. Shiho couldn't stand knowing that help was a stone's throw away, just out of reach, impossible to grasp and yet in clear view.</p><p>"Well, I certainly hope she doesn't arrive late," Makoto answered, brushing a finger through her hair and scanning the platform. "I think there's one more train after this she could catch, but she'd have to run all the way from the station to homeroom in order to make it on time."</p><p>"I can confirm it's possible to make it if you run," Shiho said, "and it's a <em>real</em> good way to burn off double-chocolate crepes. So maybe it'd do Ann some good."</p><p>Makoto laughed, but stopped short. Her reddish-brown eyes were narrowing. Shiho turned to see what Makoto was looking at. Shiho didn't even need to ask to be sure that she knew what it was when she found it. <em>Eye-catching</em> would have been a bit of an understatement for what had distracted Makoto.</p><p>There was a bored-looking boy with green hair, standing a ways down the platform. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he was looking around. At first Shiho didn't see what the big deal was, except for that hair. Some of the teachers wouldn't care, but Shiho could name one or two that would have literal kittens when they saw it. The boy's body shifted a little then, and Shiho had to blink and rub her eyes to make sure she was seeing it right. There was a definite roundness to the boy's chest... almost like a girl's chest... not large or anything, but not the right shape for muscle, so...</p><p>"Why is that girl wearing the boy's uniform?" Shiho asked before she could stop herself. Makoto looked back.</p><p>"I'm sure there's an explanation," said Makoto diplomatically. "I was informed that my class would be getting a late transfer student, when I stopped by the school the other day. They mentioned something about a special exception being made, but I didn't ask. I thought it was something personal."</p><p>Shiho had to return her attention to Makoto when she realized she was staring. Makoto was eyeing the green-haired girl with skepticism. Shiho hoped Makoto wasn't jumping to conclusions about this person without getting to know her, the way a lot of people had with Ann.</p><p>"Did they ask you to help her get acclimated?" Shiho guessed. She'd hit the bullseye. Makoto nodded.</p><p>"Yes. It was Kamoshida who requested it, actually. I think he may have scouted her, because it came up when we were discussing a potential rally to kick off the season."</p><p>It felt like a bucket of ice had dumped itself into Shiho's stomach. Her eyes darted back to the girl, who was now turned away from them, staring at something that was screened from Shiho's view by the other people on the platform. Scouted? As in for the volleyball team. As in she was looking at a girl who had no idea what the volleyball team at Shujin was like. A prospective new<br/>(<em>victim please reconsider</em>)<br/>teammate. If Kamoshida had scouted her, it was likely he was hoping to fill Nishikawa's vacant starting position. Nishikawa had graduated, had gotten her letter of recommendation from the coach and promptly disappeared off to some high-class college. Kamoshida had reminded Shiho of how well it had gone for Nishikawa at the end of the year. Reminded Shiho of what he could do for her if she performed well and did what she was told. Did what she was told. Did what he told her. Did it when he told her. Did —</p><p>"Please make her feel welcome for the rest of us, then," Shiho said mechanically. Makoto looked back to her. For a moment Shiho's pulse spiked. She thought (or imagined?) that she could see sudden suspicion in Makoto's eyes, some immaterial glint of recognition that all was not right behind the words. But Makoto simply smiled.</p><p>"I will. Of course I will. I'll ask the others to keep a seat open next to me, so I can help her catch up with the curriculum," Makoto said. "I'm told her school wasn't as advanced as Shujin in several of the courses, but that she did well enough on the placement test that it shouldn't be too much of a hurdle for her."</p><p>Whatever suspicion had been visible on her face, real or imagined, it was nowhere to be seen. Makoto turned back to watch the transfer student speculatively. Shiho might have done the same, but she found herself unable to look in that direction again, unable to look directly at the girl who might be Kamoshida's next acquisition by the end of the week. If she looked, she would remember that the right thing to do would be to warn her. And she couldn't do that. Couldn't —</p><p>"Heeeeey! Shiho!"</p><p>Ann Takamaki's voice cut through the skeletal fingers clenched down upon Shiho's heart. She smiled. Turned. Met her friend's eyes with a laugh. Unfortunately, if Ann Takamaki had indeed run out the door with toast in her mouth, she'd finished the toast. But it was still obvious that she'd been running. Ann dodged around two men and an old lady, panting out "Sorry!" and "'Scuse me!" and "Good morning, Fujioka-san!" to each of them, in that order. And then she came to a stop in front of Shiho, one hand clutching her heart.</p><p>She was an eye-catching girl in the opposite sense from the transfer student. Glamorous and wavy blonde ponytails still swinging to and fro with the physics of recent motion as it played out; tall by the standards of Japanese girls, and obviously only half-Japanese at most — to say nothing of her natural, drop-dead gorgeous figure and vibrant aqua-blue eyes. Shiho didn't have to look to know that Ann's obtrusive entrance had drawn some ire from others on the platform, ire that would take the form of grumbles about annoying gaijin. Often, Shiho wondered if they'd have been less critical if Ann had been one-hundred-percent Japanese, if "annoyance" was just a trait that a lot of them attributed to foreigners. But it was whatever it was, and it would only have dampened Ann's mood if she saw Shiho acting all concerned about it. Shiho had made a practice of keeping those thoughts to herself unless Ann brought the subject up on her own.</p><p>"Gah! Made it!" Ann exclaimed when she had better control of her breath. "I seriously thought I was gonna miss the train... thank you, thank you, <em>thank you</em> for waking me up, Shiho..."</p><p>Shiho couldn't help but laugh at her friend's frazzled manner. And yet Ann's hair was still so smooth and photogenic in spite of the rush out the door. Natural beauty like that... Shiho sometimes wondered what it would have been like to have that, instead of volleyball. To have such beauty that she could indulge in something as unobtainable as a modeling career as if it were a <em>hobby</em>. She shook her head at Ann, putting her hands on her hips and arranging her face into a look of exaggerated sternness, the face of a disapproving kindergarten teacher.</p><p>"Shouldn't you be in better shape? At this rate, some other model's gonna swoop in and steal <em>all</em> the photoshoot jobs right out from under you," Shiho warned with mock-seriousness. Ann's nose scrunched up, but then she laughed.</p><p>Shiho turned to look at Makoto, thinking to rub it in by suggesting that Ann confer with their senpai and work on pinning down a dietary plan once and for all. But Makoto was already drifting away from them; Ann hadn't noticed her. It looked like Makoto was trying to see around the crowd, to get a better look at what the transfer student was up to. Shiho decided to leave her be.</p><p>The trip to school passed in a blur of small talk after that, an all-too-brief memory of what it had been like to be a girl going to school without a care in the world. Shiho told Ann about a new item she'd tried on the menu at a diner near her home; Ann ran through a medley of memorable moments from the modeling gigs she'd taken over break, and about the little girl two doors down who had recently developed a fanatical love of <em>Phoenix Ranger Featherman R</em> and a habit of mimicking the action scenes with her playmates at the park. Shiho agreed with Ann's sentiment that it was adorable, and from there they got to talking about some of the heroes and villains that Ann had liked as a kid...</p><p>As they disembarked and started on the walk to school, Shiho wished the train ride from Shibuya to Aoyama-Itchome was a longer one. It wasn't the first time she'd wished that by a long shot.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho caught sight of the transfer student again as inbound students converged on the narrow street outside the front gate, funneling into the building. She wouldn't normally have bothered paying attention to any of the students, dyed hair or not. She'd let her focus slide off into the abyss, in fact, with only the steady flow of Ann's small talk maintaining any hold on her conscious awareness. But her friend spoke up in sudden curiosity, and Shiho couldn't help leaning to one side to get a better look at what had gotten Ann's goat this time.</p><p>"Hey, is that Ryuji?" Ann asked, squinting a little to make sure. She blew out a huff through her nose. "He's talking to some punk... jeez, he's going a bad way. He never used to be like that in middle school."</p><p>"Oh, that's a transfer student," Shiho noted. "She's a senior, in Niijima-senpai's class I think..."</p><p>"Wait, that's a girl? ...Ohhhh, you're right, I can see that now. Huh. She looks... wow. She's giving Ryuji <em>bedroom eyes</em>... whoops, those're gone now, it was blink-and-you'll-miss-it. Are they <em>flirting</em>?" Ann leaned closer, squinting for a better look. "Is that really Ryuji?"</p><p>Shiho had seen it, a fleeting, seductive look followed by a mutual laugh. It was nice. The two looked kind of cute together, like they just kind of... fit. Shiho felt her lips tug up in a smile, then felt the smile drift away like a leaf on the autumn wind.</p><p>"I hope she isn't the type to buy into rumors," she observed aloud. "I know Sakamoto-san got in trouble with Kamoshida, but..."</p><p>"...I don't think she'll be bothered by rumors. Call it a hunch, but I think she's more the type to have rumors spread <em>about</em> her," Ann said. "Well, if they're together... good. Maybe Ryuji will keep out of trouble if there's a girl to slap sense into him from time to time."</p><p>Shiho giggled. "Punch," she corrected.</p><p>Ann looked at her cluelessly. Shiho giggled still harder.</p><p>"Call it a hunch," Shiho clarified, using Ann's own words on purpose, "but I think she's the type to <em>punch</em> sense into people. You're right, though. If those two are a couple, it's a cute one. I hope you're right about that."</p><p>And couple or not, maybe if the transfer was talking to Sakamoto, he could talk some sense into <em>her</em> and convince her to join the Tennis Team or something instead of volleyball.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>The start-of-year assembly was a start-of-year assembly. Grass was green, water was wet, and cheap folding chairs were uncomfortable. It was a typical first day at Shujin Academy, without much to set it apart from any of the countless first days that had come before it.</p><p>Shiho felt Ann shifting restlessly next to her once or twice, felt the slight vibrations in the floor as the folding chair shifted. But she assumed her friend was just bored. Kamoshida was there, standing on the sidelines with those faculty members that did not have homeroom classes to oversee, but Shiho made a point not to look for him. She hoped he would leave her be this year and just let her focus on being a valuable member of the team. Focus on her dream. Focus on leaving Shujin and the memories behind.</p><p>It was not to be. She'd barely come level with the gymnasium exit when Kamoshida approached from the right, holding out a hand to stop her — and the line of students behind her — before she could leave. She tensed, but he didn't touch her, just half-barred her exit with his muscular arm.</p><p>"Just a moment, Suzui. Could you come to the P.E. office during lunch? There's something I need to discuss with you, regarding tryouts this week," Kamoshida said.</p><p>Shiho felt a familiar sense of head-clanging dissonance in the face of his calm, personable... <em>normal</em> attitude. There were times, when he spoke to her like this, when she honestly wondered if the monster she knew him as was a figment of her imagination. Once or twice she'd dared to hope that it was this side of him that was his truest side, that maybe it was only stress that made him do the things he did to his teams.</p><p>She knew better, in her heart of hearts. But the uncertainty kept creeping back in, and she just hadn't been able to kill it.</p><p>Ann shifted uncomfortably again, standing close behind Shiho. It reminded Shiho that being slow to respond would slow up everyone behind her, so she nodded.</p><p>"I'll be there," she said. It was a marvel that she managed to sound so calm. She had hoped that it would be a few more days until she had to be alone with Kamoshida again. "Will we be having practice today after all?"</p><p>"No, but I have a project that I need your help with after class lets out," Kamoshida said. "Anyway, I won't hold up traffic any longer. Have a good morning, Suzui. You as well, Takamaki."</p><p>"Yeah..." Ann answered before Shiho could. Shiho looked back at her friend, who was smiling a smile at Kamoshida that looked artificial to Shiho's practiced eye for Ann-smiles. Shiho had confessed that Kamoshida had been driving the team almost unreasonably hard toward the end of last season. If Shiho had to guess, maybe Ann was feeling uncharitable toward the man because of that.</p><p>Kamoshida turned back to where the principal and other members of faculty were gathered, discussing some of this or that for the in-progress school day. Shiho breathed out a sigh of relief at having been let go, but could feel the beginnings of a nervous buzzing at the back of her thoughts. It would be hard to focus on class today, knowing that she had to meet Kamoshida in his office during lunch.</p><p>"I guess you can go meet up with him and I'll wait up for you outside the office?" Ann suggested. She didn't need to explain what she meant. Shiho and Ann always had lunch together. Shiho fidgeted. As comforting as it would be for Ann to be close by, Shiho thought it might be a bad idea to let her wait outside the door. Shiho didn't think Kamoshida would try anything during the lunch period. There was too much traffic in the halls and time was so limited. But even she couldn't commit to that logic, not enough to let her best friend possibly be within hearing distance if... if she was wrong.</p><p>"Wait for me in the courtyard and start eating without me," Shiho said.</p><p>Ann looked surprised (having broken the neat line their class was moving in and fallen into step beside Shiho). So Shiho gave her friend a long-suffering smile and added, "I don't know how long it'll take. Coach can get pretty into it when he's making plans for the team. Niijima-senpai said something about a rally when I met her at Shibuya Station, too. It might be about that."</p><p>"Ohhhh," Ann said, nodding in understanding. "Okay, good thought. I skipped breakfast, anyway. I'll meet you at our usual spot if you get off before lunch is done."</p><p>Shiho's smile was too natural. She didn't feel like smiling. So why did it feel so natural? Why was she smiling so warmly when all she wanted to do was barricade herself in one of the classrooms and hide under a desk? It didn't make any sense. But here she was, walking back to class, smiling, and when Ann got back to small talk, Shiho distantly heard herself chattering along in response. She imagined this was what an out-of-body experience might be like.</p><p>Why did she have to feel like this again now? Why did she have to feel like she was screaming for help on the other side of a one-way mirror? Why had Kamoshida taken even this from her, made hanging with Ann feel like talking to Makoto? Why today? Why couldn't Shiho just have today?</p><p>The classes between then and lunch felt like they passed by in a serious of quick blinks, a skip-ahead PowerPoint presentation of what high school was supposed to look like. The lunch bell sounded before Shiho even realized it. She usually noticed it when lunch was approaching... her stomach would let her know of its impatient anticipation, and Shiho would usually spend the last ten minutes of class daydreaming about whatever pre-made convenience store bento she'd packed that day. But today her gut felt like it was clenching in on itself, all set to disgorge anything that Shiho might attempt to force down into it.</p><p>She stood, said a casual "see you soon" to Ann, and made her way to the P.E. office.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Ryuji experienced quite a different reaction to stress than Shiho a lot of the time. Sometimes he lost his appetite, yeah, sure, that was a thing. But most of the time stress just made him hungrier. Especially during midterm exams. It didn't help that half of his nerves today were wound up in the question of whether he should ask Kyo to hang out with him after school, and the obvious Question Number Two: where should he take her? Maybe he'd invite her to Ogikubo for some ramen. She seemed like the kind of girl who enjoyed a good meal. Seemed like the type who wouldn't get all wound up about calories or anything, too. Talking to her had been downright relaxing, actually, like having a guy-friend he could also flirt with.</p><p>...Wait. No. That had come out wrong, even in his head. <em>Like a girlfriend he could also have guy-talk with.</em> Yeah. That sounded better. Less, uh... less weird.</p><p>But what a way for a morning to go, eh? Mosey on over to say hi to a guy, realize the guy's a <em>girl</em>, and then it turns out she's the really forward type.</p><p>If he was honest about it, Ryuji didn't know what to do next. It wasn't like he'd had much experience with girls. He'd gone on a few dates when he'd been star player of the track team, yeah. But girls at Shujin weren't usually his type, and he wasn't usually theirs. It wasn't like he had an established "type" in the first place, either. It was more, like, they didn't click with him and he didn't click with them. So they had some fun hanging out and then went on with their lives, no muss, no fuss. And occasionally Ryuji put his foot in his mouth, maybe. Maybe that happened, too. But for the most part, he'd just focused on training for track and had kept his interest in girls casual.</p><p>And then after the team had been disbanded... well, he just hadn't been in the mood, and his reputation had made damn sure the girls at school weren't in the mood for him either. So it just didn't come up anymore.</p><p>But Kyo was a kind of girl he'd never seen at Shujin Academy before. She looked like the type who belonged in one of those schools with a reputation for turning out delinquents and dropouts, but she was so relaxed and, and... <em>energetic</em> that he'd almost wondered if she was even aware of what kind of girl she looked like to other people. But then she'd just brushed off the gossip like it was nothing, with a verbal jab, brushing it off and making the whisperers look like idiots. He wouldn't have gotten so wound up about them himself, either. But it had felt different this time, since it wasn't about him. He knew he could take it, but he'd been worried she would be discouraged if that was the first thing to greet her at her new school.</p><p>It was good to know she had a tough skin. But speaking of that...</p><p>It was only half of his nerves that were wound up about asking Kyo out. The other half were wound up about what he'd heard before heading to homeroom: that <em>Kamoshida</em> was trying to convince Kyo to join the Volleyball Team.</p><p>That effin' Kamoshida. It always came back to him. If Kamoshida couldn't have it, it just wasn't allowed to be there. He'd wanted to say something right away, but the thought of what Kamoshida might do in retaliation if Kyo didn't join the team had made Ryuji think twice. Bad rumors tended to swirl up around people Kamoshida didn't like, and there was already enough of that for Kyo to deal with without the extra <em>help</em>.</p><p>Ryuji's heel kept involuntarily tapping, his eyes hovering on the clock. Whatever the teachers were saying went in one ear and out the other, even though he knew he should at least pay a little attention so that he didn't <em>completely</em> bomb when exam week hit. It wasn't like he was head-over-heels in love or anything sappy like that. He liked Kyo, and thought maybe they had a shot at something if they spent more time together... and it was exciting, even if he wasn't sure how to respond to it, when she said or did something that made it clear she was totally okay with getting physical eventually...</p><p>But Ryuji wasn't dumb enough to get down on one knee and declare undying love on the first day like some melodramatic sucker. He knew he could be a little dense about some things, including girls. But he also knew better than to assume they'd get along like peas and carrots forever just because they'd had one good morning riding the train to school together.</p><p>He wasn't head over heels, but he <em>liked</em> her. Liked-liked. Like the way a guy likes a girl. That kind of like. He liked her enough that he wouldn't have been ashamed to admit it if someone asked him right to his face, might even have said it with conviction and a little bit of you-go-a-problem-with-that? So the idea of Kyo ending up in Kamoshida's clutches, it...</p><p>...Urgh! Okay, so it wasn't like Kamoshida would do anything too bad, right? Right. But Ryuji knew he was a piece of shit, an egocentric jackass. Kamoshida had ground the Track Team into the floor just because he didn't like them. And even the volleyball team came out of practice with more injuries than Ryuji was willing to attribute to "high athletic standards," both the guys <em>and </em>the girls.</p><p>At the very least Kamoshida worked his teams harder than he should, high as a kite off his fucking Olympic gold medal and the favoritism that faculty, students, and parents all showered him with. And then there were the rumors. Rumors that some members of the girls' team had wheedled their way into starting positions by turning on the feminine charm when they were alone with their coach, and that Kamoshida had been all too happy to agree to a little quid pro quo, a bit of somethin' somethin' for a little somethin' else...</p><p>He shook his head, trying to clear it before it could go too far down that road. He didn't really believe it. It said just as many bad things about the headliners on the girls' team as it did about Kamoshida, and thinking about that made him feel dirty. It also made him think of Kamoshida with a fake, stick-on porn 'stache. It would be a bad idea to crack up laughing in the middle of class, so Ryuji <em>really</em> didn't want to picture that right now.</p><p>Kawakami was lecturing on like a trooper, even though she looked and sounded more exhausted and detached <em>now</em> than she had in March. How was it possible for a teacher to be more tired after break than before it? Whatever... it wasn't any of Ryuji's business. Adults had problems too, yeah? That was life.</p><p>A few minutes later, the lunch bell rang. Ryuji took out his phone, skimming one more time over the texts he'd exchanged with Kyo after the school assembly had wrapped up.</p><p><strong>- RYUJI -<br/>(( Homeroom 2-4! Where do you want to have lunch? ))</strong><br/><strong>- KYO -<br/>(( How 'bout the roof? ))</strong><br/><strong>- RYUJI -<br/>(( The roof's not a place students really go for lunch at this school. The view kinda sucks. ))</strong><br/><strong>- KYO -<br/>(( That just means we'll be alone (人 •͈ᴗ•͈) ))</strong> <strong><br/>(( Don't get any funny ideas though ya perv. Hands above the waist and eyes up top. (;¬_¬) ))</strong><br/><strong>- RYUJI -<br/>(( Above the waist and up top, huh... ))</strong><br/><strong>- KYO -<br/>((（；￣ー￣）I may or may not object if you exploit a loophole in the law. ))</strong><br/><strong>- RYUJI -<br/>(( Oh yeah? ԅ(≖‿≖ԅ) ))</strong><br/><strong>- KYO -<br/>(( May or may not... ( 。•_• 。) ))</strong></p><p>Ryuji had lost his nerve at that point, so his next message had been rushed. Kyo's had come a micro-instant later.</p><p><strong>- RYUJI -<br/></strong> <strong>(( crap, I gotta go ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( see you at lunch ))<br/></strong> <strong>- KYO -<br/>(( I win. (￣ω￣) ))</strong></p><p>So yeah, she had made him blush before he'd made her blush. Seemed like she was an old pro at this! Ryuji hadn't dated anyone who was so happy to play that kind of high-stakes hardball. He knew she'd been kidding about what they might do on the roof, definitely! Even Ryuji knew it was too soon for that kind of thing. But it was a fun game to play, even in defeat. And it had been good medicine: he'd been so pissed off after Kamoshida had shown up, but Kyo had almost made him forget the bastard. She also had a fun way of flirting. The few times he'd gotten to texting with a girl before or after a date, the exchanges had been cringe. So cringe. But it was like Kyo just knew how to cut through the awkwardness, and Ryuji had found himself suddenly feeling really <em>playful</em>. At least, until his composure had cracked and he'd wussed out.</p><p>He'd get her back for that. Maybe. At some point. Yeah. Definitely. <em>But not today. Phew...</em></p><p>Realizing that if any of the other students got curious enough to look over his shoulder, they'd see a pretty compromising little SMS convo, Ryuji pocketed his phone and stood up. Once he had his lunch — a really basic thrown-together box of food with a pair of disposal chopsticks in a plastic wrapper — he leaned by the wall outside his classroom and waited, watching the stairs. Not many students came up from the senior floor to hang with second-years, so he was willing to bet the first person to emerge from the steps leading down would be Kyo.</p><p>He was thrown off his game a little, because of that, when the first person to step up was Makoto Niijima, a red-eyed and brown-haired beauty who he vaguely knew as a member of Student Council. An attractive girl, but <em>so </em>not his type. Memorable enough, though. Ryuji figured not many students at Shujin didn't recognize her when they passed her in the hall, except maybe for the freshmen.</p><p>"Homeroom 2-4 is right this way, Morinaga-san," said Makoto.</p><p>Ryuji relaxed. Oh. Kyo had probably just asked Makoto for directions. Maybe they were in the same class. Ryuji did sorta figure Makoto for the front-row-center type, and Kyo had said something about sitting up there. Had she actually gone and done it after all? <em>Yikes. Girl's got guts.</em></p><p>Kyo bounded up next to Makoto, looked in the direction her friend had indicated, and her face broke into such a wide grin that Ryuji couldn't help grinning back. Kyo mumbled something quietly to Makoto, prompting a blush and a quick once-over of Ryuji by the latter. Girl talk, Ryuji figured. He had enough of a feel for Kyo that he knew she'd probably said something suggestive about her lunch-date's looks and Makoto was just too prim and proper not to be embarrassed by Kyo's openness. But Makoto followed Kyo down the hall anyway. When Kyo came to a stop by Ryuji, Makoto hung back respectfully behind and to the side of her.</p><p>"Heyyyyy, Ryuji-kun!" Kyo greeted, snapping her feet together and comically standing straight as a stop sign. A green stop sign. The most counterproductive stop sign on the planet. She then held a hand out straight-to-the-side in front of her belly, like a referee declaring the winner of a UFC bout. "This's Makoto Niijima, my next-desk-over homeroom buddy!"</p><p>Makoto (whose slimness next to Kyo's only seemed to make Kyo seem even shorter by proximity) nodded and smiled.</p><p>"I had wondered if it was you..." Makoto said. Ryuji could tell she was working to keep something critical out of her voice, and it ticked him off a little, but whatever. "I'm glad you're making our new classmate feel so at ease in this school."</p><p>Ryuji forced a grin. Makoto smiled back. But Ryuji didn't feel super-inclined to chat with Makoto, so he just said, "Eh, we get along, you know? Anyway, Kyo, let's go. Got something to eat already?"</p><p>"Yeah, my mom put together a bento for me... there's enough t' share, if ya want." She held up the bag in her opposite hand, transparent plastic giving Ryuji a clear view the traditional lunch container. Then Kyo looked at Makoto, winking. "I'd invite you, too, but I kinda want some privacy just for today. Would you have lunch with me tomorrow, though, Niijima-san? I'd like it if we can talk more."</p><p>Ryuji vaguely remembered Kyo saying something about not using honorifics because she didn't like kissing up. He got the feeling that Kyo was tiptoeing around her deskmate for some reason, and in a rare flash of insight, decided to step back and observe instead of interjecting.</p><p>"I'd like that," Makoto said. She looked to Ryuji, seeming to study his face for a moment. Then she nodded. "I hope you two have fun. I'm going to have lunch in the Student Council room today. Try not to get so distracted getting to know each other that you both forget your schoolwork, though. Putting effort in now will make things easier later on."</p><p>"Whatever you say," Ryuji said lazily, at the same moment Kyo said with enthusiasm, "Yes, ma'am!"</p><p>Makoto bowed, then turned away. Ryuji looked at Kyo, raising one of his abridged eyebrows. "You kissin' up?" he asked, amused.</p><p>"A little, maybe," Kyo admitted. She was honest enough to look sheepish, and to meet Ryuji's eyes. "I'm sorta workin' up t' askin' her if she'll help me study... I'm shit at it. Can't focus on the readin', see."</p><p>Ryuji nodded. He knew that pain. He wasn't sure he was ready to go crying to the nerds to help him shape up, but it was cool if Kyo wanted to go out of her way to do better for herself. He gestured at her to follow, and she did, climbing the stairs alongside him. She told him a bit about how her classes had gone on the way up the steps, then asked him. He freely admitted he'd zoned out all morning, and she laughed good-naturedly before sitting down and digging into her meal.</p><p>Then, after a few bites — Ryuji was chewing on a chicken bit he'd plucked from the bento on Kyo's lap, his own cheap lunch discarded on the bench next to him — this strange and outgoing senpai of his asked a question that made it all just feel a lot less comfortable.</p><p>"So," said Kyo casually, chopsticks hovering suggestively against her bottom lip. "There a reason you seem t' really not like Kamoshida?"</p><p>Ryuji had been in the process of closing his mouth over another chicken bit, so he scowled with his chopsticks half-inserted into his mouth. Kyo leaned in to get a closer look at his face, then giggled.</p><p>He swallowed. "What?" he asked, defensive. Was she making fun of him? Had Kamoshida already got his hooks into her?</p><p>She shook her head, eyes shining with mirth. "Y'just looked like you were suckin' on a really sour lollipop, or maybe one o' those Warhead candies," she chuckled. But then her eyes sharpened. She looked <em>über</em>-serious and concerned now. "So what happened?"</p><p>Ryuji was momentarily left breathless by the look she was giving him. It was an intensity that was almost at odds with the easygoing face he remembered from the morning train. To get his head back in the game, he picked up a bottle of soda he'd bought at the vending machine and chugged a bit, letting out a heavy breath when he was done. The cold carbonation helped him find his center.</p><p>"I used to be on the Track Team," he admitted. "You'd probably've heard this around school somewhere eventually, or maybe Niijima's already told ya... but I used to be their star runner."</p><p>Kyo snapped a finger, smirking. "<em>Knew</em> your leg felt like you worked it hard," she declared.</p><p>Ryuji almost choked on his second sip of soda, before remembering she'd been sitting against his side on the train. So she'd been paying that much attention to what it felt like, eh? Even through the dour emotions that Kamoshida's name always stirred up, he couldn't help but grin at that.</p><p>"Yeah, I did," he added, but the grin fell away. "And Kamoshida broke it."</p><p>Kyo's face assumed a comprehending "O" look, and then she leaned back, folding her arms and closing her eyes. She looked like she was thinking pretty deeply, green eyebrows furrowing beneath her left-swept bangs.</p><p>"I asked Makoto about the sports teams when the teachers were switchin' out," Kyo said slowly, "and she said the Track Team was disbanded after a violent incident. Kamoshida said somethin' similar about the Boxin' Team when I asked about it, back when I took the placement test..."</p><p>Kyo's eyes opened, and she said, shrewdly:</p><p>"I was sensin' a theme there. Lemme guess. You attacked him, he broke your leg and called it self-defense, then moved t' have the team broken up. Makoto said somethin' about an Olympic medal this guy won, so I'm guessin' the people up top are over the moon t' have him runnin' one o' their biggest sports teams. And judgin' by your behavior and his behavior when we got inta the buildin' this mornin'... it's not hard for me t' imagine him provokin' someone and then turnin' around, actin' the victim..."</p><p>Ryuji's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as Kyo went through the facts in tones of almost clinical matter-of-fact... something? Was it confidence or resignation? Ryuji was terrible at putting those words to voices and tones. But whatever it was, she'd figured it out on her own. He hadn't even <em>needed</em> to worry about her getting the wrong idea from the rumor mill. He'd been working himself up to telling his whole stupid sob story, but then there she went, telling it to him before he got there. Might as well have clubbed the nail on the head with an effin' battlehammer, she was so on-point.</p><p>Kyo was chuckling again now, eyes on his face. He forced himself to snap his mouth shut and blurted out, "Well if you've figured that out so easy, you know to stay away from that guy!"</p><p>She nodded, acknowledging the point, but (Ryuji would only realize later in the week) not agreeing to do what he'd warned her to. She just leaned forward, setting down her chopsticks. And then she reached over, laying a hand on Ryuji's knee... the knee of the leg that Kamoshida had broken.</p><p>"Thinkin' back on this mornin' while I was in class," Kyo said softly, "I thought I saw you were limpin' a bit. I was too distracted t' pay it any mind at the time... you magnificent, sexy bastard, you."</p><p>Ryuji's heartbeat kicked up, in a way he'd almost forgotten it could since the Track Team had disbanded. He stared down at her hand. Her thumb brushed slowly back and forth over his pant leg. Gentle, loving.</p><p>"...Did it hurt?" she asked softly.</p><p>He didn't answer for several seconds. Her hand on his leg felt nice, and not in quite the same way he usually thought of a girl's hand feeling nice. It was comforting. He just wanted to sit there and soak that feeling in.</p><p>"Yeah," he said at last.</p><p>Kyo nodded. Her eyes still had that intense look to them. Then she said:</p><p>"He'll get his. You just don't let him get t'ya for now. Yeah?"</p><p>Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, okay."</p><p>And just like that, he had someone at school on his side. No big revelation, no build-up, no ceremony. What a wacky world. She squeezed his knee a little, and let go. He could still feel her hand there, as if she'd left some mark behind with her touch.</p><p>"So I'm gonna be meetin' a girl from another class after school t' talk about some things," Kyo said. "D'you got time in the evenin', though? I was hopin' we could, I dunno, have dinner. It might hafta be late, but I don't mind late if you don't."</p><p>Ryuji grinned, and said, "There's a place I was thinkin' to take you after school today, actually. How do you feel about ramen? You know, the good stuff!"</p><p>"Ain't had the good stuff much," Kyo said, obviously warming up to the idea. "When I had money to splurge with, I always got stuff like beef bowls and burgers. You're meanin' to take me t' Ogikubo, is that it? Ramen Town?"</p><p>"Yup!" Ryuji said. "I'll hang out in Shibuya at the arcade. You can text me when you're free tonight. We'll meet up and head over. Trust me, you'll swear by the ramen at this place before we're done! It's good shit!"</p><p>"Sounds like a date," Kyo said, smirking again. "But before that... you and me at the arcade. One on one. <em>Gun About.</em> Loser pays for dinner, winner gets extra!"</p><p>Ryuji laughed. "Oh, it's <em>on</em>!"</p><p>It hadn't even occurred to him that he could ask a girl to the arcade on a date. Not for something like a light gun game, anyway. He was <em>definitely</em> looking forward to tonight now!</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho stood outside the P.E. office door, taking slow, deep breaths. Collecting herself. Working up nerve. Telling herself it would probably just be something to do with tryouts after all. Once she felt like her knees wouldn't wobble out from under her, Shiho raised her hand to knock on the door.</p><p>"It's Suzui," she announced.</p><p>"Come on in."</p><p>She slid open the door, and shut it behind her. Kamoshida was at his desk, writing on some document or other. She wondered if he positioned himself like that when he was expecting someone because he knew it made him look more impressive. To the side, near the back... where anyone standing at the door could only just make out his expression. But his large, imposing back and shoulders were on full display. His size was obvious. His size...</p><p>...was the scariest thing about him. There was a simple, primal fear in facing down a larger being who had power over her, knowing that said being would stomp her into the dirt if it was their whim to do so. Knowing that she couldn't hope to stop said being if it came to that. Compared to Kamoshida, Shiho might as well have been an ant. No — a caterpillar, only capable of squirming away, too slow to escape and too small to survive being stepped on.</p><p>"You wanted to meet about tryouts?" Shiho said. Her voice was too quiet. She couldn't force much volume into it, alone with him in a closed room as she was. Kamoshida nodded slowly, then turned his chair around to face her.</p><p>"There's a new student who just transferred in. Kyo Morinaga, in class 3-2," Kamoshida said. "She's making up her mind about joining the Girls' Volleyball Team. Since we're down a major player, I want you to convince her to show up for tryouts on Wednesday."</p><p>Shiho's heart turned to ice and dropped into her stomach. The worst thing was that she had seen this coming, and had simply not wanted to make the connection. The writing had been on the wall since her talk with Makoto Niijima that morning, but never in her wildest nightmares had she expected this to be the reason Kamoshida had called her here.</p><p>"I've seen her," she blurted out, involuntarily. "You mean the girl who was with Sakamoto-san?"</p><p>Kamoshida's lips turned up in a smile that was, by some unquantifiable yet very obvious fraction, a sinister one compared to the face he normally showed the school.</p><p>"They do draw attention to themselves, don't they..." he said, a hint of distaste in his voice. "To be honest, I'd make sure she never had a shot at being on my team if I had any other option. But we only just barely scraped a win at the end of last season. You remember... don't you, Suzui?"</p><p>Shiho flinched. She remembered.</p><p>Kamoshida slowly stood up.</p><p>"Nishikawa's spot needs to be filled," he said. "And I want Morinaga to fill it. So you convince her, Suzui. You meet her outside her homeroom when class lets out this afternoon, and you sell her on volleyball. She won't join soccer, or tennis, or music or drama. <em>Volleyball</em>, Suzui. You make her want it."</p><p>No. No. She couldn't. Draw some other girl into this hole she'd dug herself into? It was one thing to be stuck here herself, but — no! She couldn't. She <em>couldn't</em>. If Kamoshida did anything to Morinaga<br/>(<em>please please reconsider I'll try harder I promise</em>)<br/>it would be Shiho's fault, her fault, it would be Shiho who had done it, who had made the choice that led to it. She couldn't do that to someone. And she could tell that Kamoshida didn't like the transfer student. There was no way he wasn't going to make life hard for Morinaga once she was in his power. Once Shiho had <em>trapped</em> her there.</p><p>"W-w-why not let one of the reserves fill the slot?" she asked.</p><p>She had barely spoken before she wondered why she was even trying. Was she hoping to convince him, stall, or what? Shiho sounded like a mouse, even to her own ears. Kamoshida made a show of staring at her, blinking once, and then he took several slow steps, closing distance. Shiho had to look up into his face, but only managed to direct her eyes toward a spot two inches to the right of his head, a tile on the ceiling that she could see over his shoulder. She couldn't force herself to move her eyes to the left, to his face, but not seeing his face only planted an image in her mind of what it must look like as he spoke. That might have been even worse than seeing it for herself.</p><p>"Because," Kamoshida said, a simple kind of hardness lacing his tone, "none of them could come close to Nishikawa's skill. They could barely keep pace with <em>you</em>. Morinaga is a delinquent <em>whore</em>."</p><p>Shiho's eyes shot wide. She'd never heard him say something like that so blatantly, even in private. He usually kept up some pretense of, of... of plausible deniability, or something, but now he was speaking with such undisguised rancor that Shiho backed up, feeling her head knock against the door.</p><p>"But she's a delinquent whore with endurance," Kamoshida went on, "and that makes her a better candidate than any of those wet paper bags on the team <em>pretending</em> to be worth my time."</p><p>She could <em>hear </em>his face twisting into a scowl, hear it in his voice. She still didn't dare to look.</p><p>"I need to keep my team at the top of the league, even if it means enduring trash like Morinaga for a year. So you convince her, Suzui, or we'll have another slot to fill come Wednesday. Am I clear?"</p><p>Shiho nodded rapidly. She could still feel her own eye-muscles, wide as dinner plates. Kamoshida nodded, turned back to his desk and sat down. He'd already returned to his document when he said, "Homeroom 3-2, after school. You're dismissed. Get to lunch."</p><p>His tone was so normal now that it was almost as if the Kamoshida of moments before had been some nightmare delusion conjured from her mind. She meekly bowed, realized he couldn't see it, said, "Yes, sir!" She then scrambled blindly behind her with a hand to open the door to the office. She stepped out backwards, closed it, and turned around, leaned back against it, willing herself not to shake.</p><p>Drag another girl into the hole she'd dug herself into. Or lose her spot on the team. Be disgraced. Never be able to play volleyball again. Any chance of attaining her dream, dead. Chances of a scholarship, dead. Dead. Dead. D —</p><p>
  <em>No. Stop right there.</em>
</p><p>She opened her eyes. Gritted her teeth. Slapped both of her cheeks at once, as if to wake herself up. Where was her mind even going? She shook her head, looking around the hallway. Brightly lit, students going about their business, chattering cheerfully. Lunch. Ann was waiting for her.</p><p>Shiho turned and strode determinedly to the courtyard. She knew one thing above all, and that it was that her brain needed to <em>shut up</em>. She needed the indomitable good cheer of Ann Takamaki, and she needed it <em>five minutes ago.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 1-4: Hail to the King, Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Four -<br/>"Hail to the King, Baby"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>"S</strong>o I asked Ryuji-kun about what happened with the Track Team," Kyo decided to say, on the spur of the moment.</p><p>Class had just ended. Students were gathering their things, drifting on over to their friends at other desks, or else just heading out the door. Several of these latter cases greeted Makoto and Kyo as they passed. Makoto returned their greetings with smiles and waves. It was after the third such greeting, when Makoto was zipping up her pencil case... it was a cute pencil case, Kyo thought! Looked like some kinda legless millipede panda demon from Hell. It was beat to shit from overuse, but Kyo got the weird feeling that she recognized it from somewhere.</p><p>Anyway — back on track — it was after the third greeting that this casual statement pulled Makoto up short. She looked back at Kyo, who was still lounging back in her chair. Makoto was standing, bent over her pencil case. It seemed to Kyo that the taller girl had been so lost in whatever her thoughts were that she'd forgotten to put her things away before standing.</p><p>So Makoto stood above and stared, nonplussed. Kyo tilted her head to the side so that her hair was out of the way and she could watch Makoto's face properly. It took the honor student a moment to gather her wits and answer.</p><p>"Ah," Makoto said, wincing. "I had thought about mentioning it, but it would have been unfair of me to give you a negative impression of him when you've only just met. I don't know him that well, so..."</p><p>There was nothing insincere in Makoto's expression that Kyo could see. Not in her voice, either. After a few moments of considering this, Kyo decided that she could take Makoto's apology at face value. Not that they'd known each other any longer than Kyo had known Ryuji, but she figured the red-eyed girl for the earnest, well-intentioned type, maybe even the sort who would have been able to resist the temptation of heart-stopping magic notebooks. Kyo shrugged, and smiled a little to let Makoto know that she hadn't made a real misstep there.</p><p>"Well, can ya tell me what happened, from what you know?" she asked, getting to the point of the conversation she wanted right now. "I only have Ryuji's side o' the story, after all... figured it might be good if I got some more information from an unbiased party, see?"</p><p>She was bending the truth a little here: Kyo hadn't actually gotten Ryuji's side of the story. Instead, she had voiced a skeleton of a suspicion and had let Ryuji's reaction confirm it for her. She couldn't have told Makoto how Kamoshida had provoked Ryuji, or made any judgment calls about whether or not Ryuji's retaliation had been over-the-top, for example... but she was convinced, at least, of the part she'd managed to noodle out on her own.</p><p>Ryuji's obvious tension in the school lobby had taught her something else about him that she hadn't known until then, and it was that he was the kinda guy who wore his emotions loud and proud like the logo art on his yellow shirt — whether they were good emotions, or bad. So she'd figured she could just chuck a truth bomb over her shoulder like a grenade, so to speak, and wait to see if the explosion hit close enough to home for a horseshoes tournament. It only worked on certain kinds of people, but the fireworks were spectacular when it did.</p><p>It wasn't the first time that Kyo had bludgeoned her way through something like that, skipping over the cumbersome process of sorting through all the he-said, she-said. Kyo couldn't stand gossip, mostly because she remembered <em>fucking all of what she heard</em> whether she was interested or not. Sometimes it made the process of getting to know someone who had a lot of rumors flying around about them into a very stressful experience. The only gossip she didn't give a shit about was gossip about herself: she knew what the truths and lies were, and had no problems ignoring things that she already knew were just tall tales.</p><p>"...and I can guess what form it'll take on the grapevine..." Kyo went on slowly while she was thinking this. "But you don't indulge in gossip much, I'm guessin'?"</p><p>"Not really at all, unless I happen to overhear something that I find concerning," Makoto admitted. "And I never spread any around, if that's what you mean. But you are about to go on a date with him. So in this case, I don't mind sharing what I've heard."</p><p>She finished zipping her pencil case up, but slid back into her chair, turning and swinging her legs over the side with grace that Kyo honestly envied. But it was weird to see someone sitting so straight when they were turned sideways on a chair like that.</p><p>Hands folded on her knees, Makoto remained quiet for a few seconds. Kyo figured she was trying to work out where to begin, or maybe how much of what she'd heard was plausible enough information to responsibly give to somebody else. It seemed like a very Makoto Niijima kind of thing to think about. Kyo hadn't known her for very long, but Makoto seemed like she knew the value of information and analysis — she was the last girl on the planet that Kyo could imagine kneejerk-sharing clickbait news articles on social media, or firing off confident, angry opinions thirty seconds after reading one.</p><p>"Well," Makoto said in a measured tone, "the story as I heard it immediately after the incident was that the stress of training with Kamoshida became too much, due to Kamoshida's high standards. Sakamoto-san, as the star member of the team, was being worked particularly hard and on that day, he snapped and took a swing at Kamoshida. Kamoshida wasn't hurt; he took Sakamoto-san down too quickly for that."</p><p>"Hard t' fight with a broken leg, I imagine," Kyo said mildly, eyes still on Makoto's face. Makoto had the good grace to look a bit like she pitied Ryuji for the injury, at least.</p><p>"Kamoshida admitted afterward that he went overboard... training took over, he said, and he moved on his own," the honor student explained. "I can see it happening. He's an Olympic athlete, as I told you earlier. And I know from experience that when you're defending yourself, you aren't thinking much about what you're doing. It's all kind of... automatic. You do what you've practiced doing and just try to guide it along with whatever rational thought you can muster in the moment."</p><p>"You've been caught in situations where you've hadta defend yourself?" Kyo asked, leaning forward. This was interesting. The city was a dangerous place, but Kyo had figured Makoto for the kind of girl who stuck to the designated safe zones, the crowded social areas and the clean, well-policed residential places.</p><p>"Just the one time," Makoto admitted, smiling a little.</p><p>"Mind tellin' the story? Only if it's not too hard t' remember, of course."</p><p>Makoto shook her head. "It's not. It was a day out at the park with my sister, when she had found some time off," she said. "There were two men having an argument. Over money, I think. I tried to talk them down, and one of them grabbed my arm, roughly. I just reacted to it. I know some aikido, so I was able to throw him to the ground. Fortunately, I didn't need to do much more than that. The other man had him pinned before I knew it, and was yelling at him to calm down before he got himself arrested. Sae heard the commotion from where she was reading and rushed over... I think the both of them were so worried when they learned they'd attacked a public prosecutor's sibling that they forgot what they were arguing about in the first place. Sae was... not happy with me, for involving myself."</p><p>Kyo perked up. Public prosecutor's sister? Makoto had an older sister who worked as a prosecuting attorney. Hm.</p><p>...How <em>useful </em>would it be to have a direct line of communication to someone whose career hinged on putting criminals behind bars? Especially with what she had boiling in her brain right now. Kyo opened her mouth to inquire further, but decided it would just derail the conversation. It was something she could ask Makoto another time. Still. Useful to know.</p><p>"Well, you were doin' what you thought was right," Kyo said. "As for the track team, I guess I can buy that it wasn't as bad as Ryuji said."</p><p>Ha! When pigs evolved the power to stop time. She thought the official line, as Makoto had told it, was horse-shit. Transparent horse-shit, at that.</p><p>It was too <em>convenient</em> that Kamoshida, the head coach of one sport at a school, had found opportunity in the <em>heat of the moment</em> to break the most important limb on a star player of another sports team that was competing with his for the spotlight at Shujin. Kyo hadn't been able to make sense of the picture forming in her head until Ryuji had told her that Kamoshida had broken his <em>leg</em>. It was like going for the fingers of a writer or a seamstress. And whether the attacker was strong or not, bones weren't so fragile as to break without significant effort... especially bones that had been strengthened by a good diet, housed in a limb built with well-trained muscle... the kind of legs that someone would have had if they were the star runner of a track team.</p><p>It wasn't as if that made breaking a dude's leg impossible. But it made breaking it by accident in self-defense implausible. A man of Kamoshida's size would have had an easier time, Kyo figured, just tripping or knocking Ryuji down and holding him in place until help could arrive. If there was a serious accidental injury involved, it would have made more sense if it were the arm or the head...</p><p>The whole thing just seemed so obvious to Kyo that she marveled at how easily anyone could have bought the lie. What was it like to live in such a simple world that bullshit stories like this one made sense in one's head? It sounded so... boring.</p><p>Makoto put a hand to her chin. It seemed like she was watching Kyo almost as carefully as Kyo had been watching Makoto while she spoke. This pose made Makoto look a bit like that old statue, what was it — The Thinker? That was it, yeah, the Thinker. Kyo wondered if Makoto was aware of how obvious she was when she was thinking about something.</p><p>"You don't really buy it, do you?" Makoto asked after about ten seconds, smiling a little. "You don't want to get into an argument over it, so you're not pushing. But you've already taken Sakamoto-san's side, haven't you?"</p><p>Kyo raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer. It must have made her look a bit weird, with her head tilted diagonal as it was, because Makoto looked amused.</p><p>So Makoto said, "It's okay. I don't know what the circumstance are, myself. He shouldn't have attacked a teacher, but plenty of students have succumbed to stress from time to time. Done or said things they can't take back... I've never judged him for it, but I suppose when I learned you two were together, my mind went right to the kinds of things that could go wrong with an aggressive man..." Her smile vanished, and she lowered her voice a bit. "My sister is working a case for a domestic abuse victim this week, and I've read about the accusations in the news... well, I suppose my mind gravitated in that general direction without reason. I apologize."</p><p>Kyo straightened up, blinking several times in rapid succession. Oh. She'd had Makoto wrong. She hadn't been operating on a bogus story about Ryuji at all, or even just stereotyping him.</p><p>There'd been an edge of something to her attitude toward Ryuji, yeah, even before when Kyo had mentioned having a boyfriend. Maybe Makoto'd seen them together on their way to school and had already been aware of his identity, or maybe not. When it had become obvious that Makoto wasn't completely approving of Ryuji, Kyo had thought maybe Makoto just disapproved of Ryuji's "type." Kenshin had gotten a lot of that, especially from Kyo's mother...</p><p>There was a context to her mood that Kyo hadn't been able to guess, though, that Kyo just hadn't known about and couldn't have taken into account. Knowing that now, she felt a bit stupid for poking and prodding Makoto like this, trying to work out what her attitude problem was. But she also felt better. Makoto had just been worried for her own reasons, seeing ghosts of another problem where there wasn't one, and had been concerned for Kyo, truly and honestly. Maybe Makoto hadn't been the only one seeing the ghost of another problem where there wasn't a problem to worry about.</p><p>"Well, don't you worry 'bout me!" laughed Kyo. "Like I told Kamoshida when he warned me about Ryuji-kun this mornin', I know where t' put my knee when a guy gets fresh with me! Tho' I ain't got any aikido or nothin', I just sorta punch and kick at things."</p><p>"Oh? Where did you learn to fight?" Makoto asked. Kyo hadn't expected the question, though she probably should have — her mouth had run away from her brain again, there — and she felt some heat building on her cheeks. She looked away and straightened her head out, letting her hair fall in front of her left cheek to mask the encrouching flush long enough for it to recede. But she couldn't keep the sheepishness out of her voice.</p><p>"Oh, er..." she said. Welp. Might as well give an honest answer, she decided. "I mostly copied this girl I usedta watch fight for the basics... and then later on I figured out the other things about fightin' from online videos and stuff..."</p><p>"A girl you watched fight? You mean like in karate tournaments?"</p><p>"...Somethin' like that. But I practiced on my own, at the gym, y'know, with punching bags and all."</p><p>Her mother and father could have paid for lessons, Kyo restrained herself from saying, but back then Kyo had been thinking there was no chance of getting permission to learn how to fight. Fighting wasn't a feminine thing, and her parents had always been against her being interested in masculine things. If she'd been a bit smarter about her parents at the time, Kyo might have realized that they probably would have been open to the idea of their daughter learning to look after herself. But Kyo had not been thinking at her most rational with regards to Eri and Akio Morinaga, back then. And later on, when she was older, well... she'd just been so set in her ways that she wasn't thinking about it anymore.</p><p>"So you're self-taught," Makoto said, a little dubious now. "That's not the best way to go about it, Morinaga-san... if there's no one to correct you when you're learning and no one to spar with, there's no way to know if you're making a habit of doing things just a little bit wrong, and no way to know how effective you are at it, either."</p><p>Oh, Kyo had gotten into enough scraps to know she was effective at it. But that might have been detrimental to Makoto's opinion of her if she said it, so she didn't.</p><p>"Yeah, it took me ages t' realize my jab kinda sucked," Kyo said instead. Her eyes taking on the time-honored look of deadpan exasperation, this time self-directed as she hit upon a different facet of her fighting memories. "The most basic punch ever and I was gettin' it wrong for, like, two whole years... felt like an idiot when I caught that, it was while I was watchin' a boxin' match online and it just hit me how much <em>better</em> they were..."</p><p>Makoto put a hand to her lips. "Well," she said, "at least you caught it. Say, Morinaga-san, why don't we continue this tomorrow? I'd like to pick your brain a little about martial arts, if you're okay with that. At lunch?"</p><p>Kyo tilted her head to the side again, smiling crookedly at the other girl. "Sounds good. Didn't take you for the fightin' type, though. Guess I'm as prone t' judgin' books by their covers as anyone."</p><p>Makoto blushed a little, standing up and looking away. "It's just a curiosity," she said, with the air of someone trying to downplay something that was not, in fact, <em>just a curiosity</em>. "My father was a police officer, you see, so he made sure my sister and I both knew how to defend ourselves..."</p><p>Kyo nodded. It made sense. But Makoto was talking like this fact was a counter-argument to the idea that she had such an unfeminine interest as fighting technique. Kyo thought differently. Every interest had to come from somewhere. Kyo had a hunch that Officer Niijima's insistence on making sure his daughters could fight if they needed to had blossomed into a genuine enthusiasm for how self-defense worked on a technical level. Maybe it wasn't so simple as being really into the excitement or the macho-factor of fighting, the way Kyo herself was, but there was always another light to see something like this in. There was always another reason to find things <em>captivating</em>, if you had the eye for seeing things in particular ways.</p><p>"Sounds like your dad was a cool guy," Kyo said easily, taking out her phone to check the time. "Tomorrow at lunch, then. I've got an appointment t' keep today."</p><p>"Oh? With your boyfriend?" Makoto asked, with a cheeky smile. She slowed to a stop again as she stepped past Kyo's desk on her way to the door. Kyo shook her head, chuckling.</p><p>"No, that's after. We're goin' for dinner at Ogikubo tonight," she said. "But someone named Suzui's gonna meet me t' talk about the volleyball team."</p><p>"Oh, you mean Shiho Suzui," Makoto said, nodding. "She scored the winning shot at the last big game. I managed to make it to that one — it was a very close game. I don't think I've ever seen a high school sports match between teams that talented and well-coordinated before."</p><p>"So this Shiho'd be the one t' talk to about the team for sure," Kyo ventured.</p><p>"I would say so. And I think you'll get along with her. But I really should get going — we're setting up for elections today."</p><p>"Right, y'said you were on Student Council," Kyo asked. "You runnin'?"</p><p>Makoto smiled. "Vote for me," she said. "And wish me luck!"</p><p>"I'll do both," Kyo promised with a smirk and a wave.</p><p>Makoto waved back and headed for the door. An honor student and Student Council President, or a confident candidate for the position, at least. Kyo's guess about the students being intimidated by her might have been the off-base possibility after all. Maybe the reason for this empty desk at the front had been that Makoto'd wanted to keep it open for the transfer student to claim, after all. Hell, maybe Makoto had even meant to ask Ushimaru-sensei to assign Kyo that seat — if Kyo herself hadn't interrupted and asked for it before Makoto'd had a chance to raise her hand.</p><p>While Kyo ran through these idle thoughts as she always did, she absent-mindedly took her phone out and unlocked it, scrolling over to the page with the weird eyeball icon on it. She'd meant to try the app outside of the school after classes let out. Nothing would happen, she was sure. Still...</p><p>Hm. It was nice to think that Makoto had wanted to help her out, but she could only have known that there was a transfer student coming to the class — nothing about who that transfer student was. Even if Makoto was the naturally responsible type, to have premeditated to the point of saving an open desk for Kyo...</p><p>...She tapped the icon. The app took over the screen. She clicked the search history, eyes hovering on the topmost item, the one that included her own name.</p><p>Kyo shook her head. Where could that train of thought even go, anyway? She was overthinking Makoto's actions. To help and welcome newcomers was probably just her <em>way</em>, if Kyo was even right about this in the first place. It did make her think of the class's greeting to her, though, after she'd introduced herself. Maybe Makoto had also asked everyone else in the class to make her feel welcome, too.</p><p>...<em>Please decrease physical proximity to begin navigation,</em> the phone had told her...</p><p>Being greeted warmly by the whole class had been kind of nice, actually, even if the whispers had been a little rude and annoying.</p><p>"Um, hello? Ah, there you are. Thanks for waiting!"</p><p>Kyo was jolted from her thoughts by a voice calling into the room from the door up front. She looked over and found herself looking back at a dark-skinned girl with freckles and red hair, tied in a ponytail, brown eyes inquisitive above a friendly smile...</p><p>She blinked. No. There were no freckles. The skin tone was fair. The hair <em>was</em> tied back, but it was dark brown. The face was all wrong, but the expression was the same, too much the same. Kyo shivered, glancing away on reflex before snapping her eyes back to the girl at the door.</p><p>She felt like she'd woken up from a dream about bugs, and had experienced one of those momentary flashes where she could still <em>see</em> a spider on her pillow exactly where it had been in her dream an instant before. Kyo had those flashes from time to time — she thought it maybe meant she'd woken up right out of REM sleep, but hadn't bothered looking it up. Whatever it was, it was always a jolt to her system when it happened. A most unpleasant, skin-squirmy jolt. Not fun.</p><p>The girl at the door looked at her quizzically, probably wondering if Kyo was a bit slow in the head (Kyo thought blandly). But the moment was broken by a second girl bursting into view on the other's right side.</p><p>"Yeah, there she is! Told you we'd have time!"</p><p>Kyo's eyes snapped straight to to this new face, in a way she immediately knew was automatic for just about everyone in any given room a girl this attention-grabbing might enter. Automatic in Japan, at least. She wasn't just half-Japanese, with obvious white-girl traits mixed with Asian on her face. And it wasn't just the wavy, glamorous blonde pigtails (had Kyo seen those from a distance earlier?). She was also sexy. Supermodel sexy. Kyo folded her arms over her chest and tightened her own jaw against the sudden wave of insecurity she felt at seeing a girl with that kind of figure <em>so up close</em> and in the <em>real world</em>. It wasn't like Makoto's kind of good looks — slender and slim but still naturally attainable, the result of what was probably one heck of a health routine. Sitting next to Makoto hadn't made Kyo feel inferior at all, she'd just felt like she and Makoto had chosen two different body-image goals and succeeded in making them happen.</p><p>Nah, blondie was one of those who had just happened to grow into a body type with all the right aspects to make men go gaga for it. She looked <em>photoshopped</em>. It was so, so bizarre and Kyo felt a traitorous temptation well up, an urge to dislike this girl on sight.</p><p>But that woulda been <em>stupid</em>. So she ignored it.</p><p>The first girl stepped into the room, giving Kyo an excuse to take a break from feeling inadequate. Vaguely, she wondered if guys ever felt like this when they were in the same room with, like, a track star or something, the kind of guy who all the girls jostled for while ignoring the rest of...</p><p>...</p><p>Oh... right. She was dating one of those herself now, a track star. Former, anyway. Awkward.</p><p>"Hi! You're Kyo Morinaga, right?" asked the first girl, stopping next to Kyo's desk. The second girl had followed her in, peering curiously at Kyo over the first's shoulder.</p><p>Kyo raised her empty hand, giving the two girls a bland smile. "That's me. Is one o' you this Suzui girl I've been waitin' for?" It had been a bit longer than Kyo had been expecting to hang around, not that she was super-impatient or anything.</p><p>"That's her!" the second girl said, pointing at her friend even as the girl named Shiho Suzui lifted a hand to point to herself and opened her mouth for her own introduction.</p><p>Shiho sighed, and sent her a friend an annoyed look that went unseen by any but Kyo because the blonde wasted no time in leaning over the front of Kyo's desk. Her face was suddenly so close that Kyo jerked her chair backward, thumping it into the desk behind her, stuffing her phone awkwardly into her pocket to get it out of the way — and Personal Space Invader had smacked both hands down flat on Kyo's desk.</p><p>She demanded in a blazing rush of mock-yandere anger, "What are your intentions toward <em>my</em> Sakamoto-kun?! You keep your paws off him!"</p><p>"What," Kyo said flatly, staring at the pigtailed girl. There was no time for her to mistake anyone's intentions, though, because Shiho burst out in a fit of giggles at her friend's terrible (hopefully on purpose?) acting.</p><p>"Ann, <em>what</em>?! Pffffwahahaha... jeez! Get out and let me do my job!"</p><p>Personal Space Invader, also called Ann, held her pouty-scowly face for a full three seconds before it cracked into a grin and she straightened up.</p><p>"Kidding!" she said, before waving at Shiho and bounding out the door. As she left she gave her friend a parting directive: "Don't keep her at school all night yapping her ear off about digging in spikes or whatever, okay?"</p><p>"<em>Digging and spiking</em>!" Shiho called after her, but Ann was already laughing her way down the hall, hair flying out like a pair of queenly banners behind her. Kyo watched her until she disappeared from view of the hallway window. Then she turned back to Shiho, swinging her thumb up to indicate the parting girl.</p><p>"She the reason you're late?" Kyo asked. Shiho huffed and put her hands on her hips.</p><p>"'<em>Don't worry, she won't go anywhere! Let's just get some pastries at the school shop, it won't take long,'</em>" Shiho intoned, imitating Ann's chipper voice. "And then she goes and spills iced tea all over the floor in front of the counter, the klutz. Sorry about that. I was helping her clean up."</p><p>"No worries. She was right, I wasn't gonna go anywhere," Kyo said, grinning. "So Kamoshida asked you t' convince me t' join volleyball, yeah?"</p><p>Shiho nodded distractedly, still apparently fixated on the absent Ann. Kyo interlaced her fingers and stretched them over her head, cracking her knuckles audibly. At the sound, Shiho snapped out of it. Kyo hopped to her feet.</p><p>"Well! I've already pretty much decided I'm in. I do that. Decide things all quick-like. But I'd still like t' talk, if that's okay."</p><p>"Huh?" Shiho asked, her eyes widening. "You'll join? Just like that?"</p><p>She paused. Kyo furrowed her eyebrows, silently prompting Shiho to say something else, whatever else. Why did this girl seem so surprised?</p><p>"I-it's just that Kamoshida told me you needed convincing," Shiho said, reaching up to brush some stray hair behind an ear. "What made up your mind?"</p><p>"Ah, I just decided 'what they hey,' hey?" Kyo lied, then gestured for Shiho to follow her right back out the door. "I figured the reason I gave Kamoshida this mornin' for my indecision was a bit of a silly worry-wart kinda reason, so I stopped worryin'."</p><p>Not even close to the truth, this time. She'd been interested in the sport before, but now she wanted to get closer to Kamoshida. If her suspicions were right, Kamoshida was a manipulative bastard and had been ruining things for other sports clubs in order to artificially inflate his own importance to the school. And whether or not she was on track with that read on things — ...heh heh... <em>on track</em>... — Kyo wanted to find some way to get back at the man for what he'd done to Ryuji. She wasn't about to tell Ryuji about that, of course, though she'd have to think up a plausible explanation for joining before Wednesday so he didn't get the wrong idea... or the right one, which might have been worse.</p><p>"Oh. ...What reason did you give him?" Shiho asked. The question came with an air of the abrupt surprise Kyo associated with forgetting what day of the week it was. Had Kamoshida just not told her, then? Seemed a bit of a dumb oversight to send someone over to ease a worry and not even tell that someone what worry they were supposed to ease.</p><p>Kyo shook her head, slung her bag over her shoulder, and set off out of the room and down the hall at a strong power-walking pace. The other girl kept up with no trouble, even drawing into step next to Kyo without needing to jog to close the distance.</p><p>"Let's take this over t' the gym. It'll be empty now, right?" Kyo asked. Shiho nodded. Kyo went on: "Anyway, I was just worried I wouldn't get along with the team. My personality can be a little overwhelmin', is all."</p><p>Shiho nodded automatically, as if to agree with the statement, but then put her hands to her mouth and nervously said, "Ah, I-I see."</p><p>Kyo gave her an amused look, then snickered into a half-closed fist, nudging open a glass door. They were in the courtyard now, well on their way to the school gym. Kyo had no trouble retracing the steps they'd taken when the teachers had herded everyone in there for the morning assembly.</p><p>"Y'didn't hafta agree <em>that</em> fast," she said. "That's kinda hurtful, y'know."</p><p>Shiho smiled, relaxing a little at Kyo's good-humored and obviously unhurt reply. "Sorry. You do seem a little, um, unconventional though," she said.</p><p>"You bet your bottom, I am," Kyo said gravely. "I'm the queen of unconventional. I zig and I zag and I drop pop culture bombs like a T-700 Peter Griffin over a nerd convention on Judgement Day."</p><p>Lifting her hands together and sailed them through the air for a second in the vaguely trianglish shape of a bomber jet, she hummed through her teeth to imitate the sound of its flight. Then, she held out her index finger, whistling and bringing it down, down, down... "PFWOOOOOOOOOOMetalgearrrrrrrrr..." She spread her fingers out and up in the shape of a plot-exposition mushroom cloud, and stared at her invisible explosion with eyes that had seen the end of days.</p><p>Then she snapped a grin with bipolar suddenness on Shiho. She felt a small, guilty sense of relish when Shiho drew back a little, baffled by this display.</p><p>"...I don't think I understood anything you just said except the 'nerd convention' part..." Shiho said awkwardly. "Do I even want to ask?"</p><p>"Sounds like you're hoverin' at a bit of a... <em>Quagmire</em>... there?" Kyo said, before snickering into her hand again when Shiho looked even <em>more </em>confused. She held up a hand and waved off her own reference. "Never mind, I'm just messin' with ya. It's good to meet ya, though, Suzui-san. You can call me Kyo."</p><p>Shiho relaxed again — poor girl was probably feeling like this conversation was a bit of a roller coaster ride by now. "Alright, Kyo-san. Call me Shiho, then," she said. "I... I'm glad you decided to join the team on your own. But you can ask me whatever you want. We might be playing at nationals together by the end of the year, after all. So just go ahead and think of me as your teammate for today."</p><p>Glad? Glad Kyo had decided to join on her own, Shiho had just said. She <em>looked</em> glad. Looked like some invisible source of stress had just been lifted off her like a weight, Kyo thought. There must not have many candidates to fill whatever spots had opened, after all... Kyo didn't see how it could have been such a big problem, though, unless...</p><p>"Was the girl who graduated last month... the big team hero, or somethin'?" Kyo guessed. "Is that why Kamoshida's bein' all hand-picky about tryouts right now?"</p><p>Shiho sighed and nodded. "Yes," she admitted heavily. "And we didn't do as well as we could have in our last big game even with her playing. So we're trying to beef up the team, recruit some fresh talent while there's still time for training up any newcomers."</p><p>Wait, what? Didn't do as well as they could have? Kyo nudged open the door to the gymnasium with her elbow and held it open for Shiho.</p><p>"That's not what I heard," Kyo said, leaning in closer to Shiho and squinting at the girl's face as she stepped through. "I think Niijima-san's exact words were 'I don't think I've ever seen a high school sports match between teams that talented and well-coordinated before.'"</p><p>In fact, Kyo <em>knew </em>that those had been Makoto's exact words. She rarely misquoted anyone or anything no matter how long ago she'd heard it. And this was a conversation that had taken place, what, five minutes ago? Shiho looked gobsmacked by the praise, though.</p><p>Kyo had shut the door, looking around the gym. The cheaply-constructed stage hadn't been taken down yet, but the folding chairs had been taken away and stuffed in some storage shed somewhere, probably. It was a big, empty, open floor with generic sports-boundary lines painted around it, with basketball nets hanging on opposite ends, the only concession to any specific sport since most of the others were easy enough to set up and take down at a moment's notice.</p><p>"Is that what she thinks?" Shiho asked distantly. "Kamoshida said we were off our game the whole time... maybe Niijima-senpai isn't familiar enough with sports to tell. Ann said we did good, too, but she doesn't know the first thing about sports. She was just being a friend."</p><p>But Kyo thought she detected a conflicted note to the explanation, as if Shiho was trying to convince herself that Kamoshida's critical evaluation was correct and Makoto's glowing review was wrong. Kyo shrugged, shaking her head and stuffing her hands in her pockets.</p><p>"Well, she sounded like she was damn sure of her analysis," Kyo said. "Sounds t' me like your coach was just layin' it on thick. Maybe even puttin' ya down."</p><p>Shiho's eyes went wide, and she suddenly waved her arms in front of her face, as if Kyo had personally accused her of stealing cookies from the jar in the teacher's lounge. There was a high note of panic in her voice:</p><p>"No no no! He cares about us! He just wants to see us succeed, that's all!"</p><p>Kyo stared at her, frowning now, and still leaning in even with the door closed. Shiho seemed to catch on to her own overreaction, and took a quick breath... before laughing an easygoing laugh. Kyo grinned and straightened up. Shiho was okay people, Kyo decided. Not afraid to laugh at herself. That was a good quality. You couldn't laugh at yourself if you were the kind of person who took life too dang seriously all the time.</p><p>"Sorry, I've never done this before," Shiho admitted, looking around. "Last year, <em>I</em> was the new girl on the team."</p><p>"You're a second year?" Kyo guessed. Shiho nodded.</p><p>"Yep. Same class as Rocket Girl out there."</p><p>"Personal Space Invader," Kyo corrected firmly. "Her nickname is Personal Space Invader."</p><p>Shiho giggled. "...I'm using that to her face first chance I get, and I'm telling her you were the one to call her that. Anyway. What else do you want to know?" She looked out across the gym. "I was expecting to make this big sales pitch about how fun volleyball is, but to be honest, I don't think that's something anyone can just tell you. You have to feel it, you know? Even I..."</p><p>When the other girl trailed off, Kyo waited, then withdrew a hand from her pocket again to gesture at Shiho to get a move on. Shiho smiled in an embarrassed way, but didn't complete her thought.</p><p>Instead she said, "If you find a sport you love, then it's like... when you're in the heat of it, blood pumping, lungs heaving, sweating up a storm, you're just... your body's almost moving on its own. Everything's instinct, and everything else doesn't matter anymore. No matter what else is going on in your life. All there is in the moment is the moment, and all that matters is the game."</p><p>"Even if whatever else's on your mind happens t' be downright depressin'," Kyo decided to say, taking a shot in the dark.</p><p>Shiho didn't responded for a moment, then slowly nodded. She admitted, "I've had those days."</p><p>"Ain't we all," Kyo said, sighing. "If I'm bein' honest, I know exactly what ya mean by what you just said, but it wasn't, uh... wasn't a sport I turned to for that."</p><p>"Oh?" Shiho's eyebrows went up. "Then what did you turn to instead?"</p><p>Kyo looked away, scratching at the back of her neck. "Eh, you know... boys..."</p><p>Shiho laughed. "Is <em>that</em> why you were flirting with a guy on the first day of class? Dating's a form of stress relief for you? I guess it's different for everyone. The only dates I've been on were nothing <em>but</em> stressful. Even if the boy did happen to be kind of cute."</p><p>Kyo threw her head back and laughed. By the time she was done, she was almost in tears. As she wiped her eyes with the back of a hand, Shiho was staring at her, probably wondering what the deal was. So Kyo offered the only words of explanation she could:</p><p>"Ah, a pure soul... well, uh... it takes... a <em>bit</em> more'n just <em>dating</em> to achieve the whole blood-pumpin', lungs-heavin', sweaty instinct thing y'were talkin' about."</p><p>Shiho's eyes widened in realization and she said, "Oh. Um. Yikes."</p><p>But... hey, she wasn't blushing! Had a bit of a stomach for that sort of talk, did she? Good for her, Kyo thought. No sense getting all squirrel-on-a-tree about it whenever sex came up in conversation, right? Right. Anyways, where had she been going with this? Oh, right.</p><p>"Hm, questions. I was gonna ask what sorta girls are on the team, but I figure it's easier t' just get t' know 'em in person," Kyo said, scratching her chin. "...And I know enough about volleyball that askin' you the rules now'd be pointless. I can brush up on terms and whatever on YouTube, or something."</p><p>Kyo didn't really want to ask about any of that. But the question she wanted to skip ahead to was one that she didn't think was smart to ask without some sort of lead-in. So she made a show of considering and discarding things she would have maybe asked Shiho if her reasons for joining the team hadn't changed so drastically over lunch. After a thoughtful-sounding stretch of silence, she snapped her finger and grinned, pretending that she'd just figured it out.</p><p>"Alright, how 'bout... tell me about that coach o' yours. I've talked t' him a few times, but I don't know much about him," she said. "What's his name? Kimishima or some such? Nah, that doesn't sound right..."</p><p>Shiho didn't answer immediately. Nothing showed on the girl's face, but Kyo got the impression that Shiho had to stop and consider how to answer the question, which seemed a little weird. Kyo had opened with the most innocent, obvious hook there was: am I pronouncing his name right?</p><p>Then, as if a switch flicked, Shiho put on a smile, and began to speak. For a moment Kyo almost saw the redhead she'd left behind in Osaka again, superimposed overtop of Shiho's form, and had to repress a wince.</p><p>Why, of all times, was she thinking about Chika Nakadachi <em>now</em>? Why was she thinking of Chika at <em>all</em>? Casting her mind back to that mess was a useless exercise in frustration... useless like Kyo herself had been, useless to the point of just causing needless pain. It was better to bury the image of that face an unmarked grave, leave that sad story in the past and <em>move on.</em> There was nothing she could do for Chika anymore, if there ever had been anything she could have done in the first place...</p><p>Kyo barely heard Shiho's answer through the heat haze of uncomfortable memories.</p><p>"Kamoshida. Suguru Kamoshida," Shiho began, affecting a tone that Kyo thought wouldn't have been out of place on a television shopping show. "An Olympic gold medalist at the sport. Shujin Academy couldn't ask for a better coach — "</p><p>A beep had sounded, from somewhere in the region of Kyo's waist. Kyo blinked and twitched as if electrified out of her daze. It occurred to her, belatedly, that she hadn't locked her phone when she'd stuffed it in her pocket... when Personal Space Invader had invaded her personal space. And she couldn't remember if she'd ever set the settings so that the thing would <em>auto</em>-lock again after she'd disabled it for her experiment with the laptop screen-reader. A chill ran down Kyo's spine when a voice followed the beep:</p><p>"<em>Candidate found. Beginning navigation.</em>"</p><p>Beginning...? Wha...?</p><p>"Huh?" Shiho asked, but then the entire world seemed to <em>lurch</em> to one side around them. Lurch, twist, warp... and Kyo felt as if the floor shifted beneath her feet, wooden paneling changing itself out for... carpet? Her head was hurting, hurting out of nowhere and the sensory overload momentarily made her feel something not unlike that time she'd gotten cocky and drank <em>way</em> too much vodka at a party...</p><p>"Uwaaaaah?!" was the sound that escaped Kyo's lips, when the lurching vertigo, blur of darkening color, and the inexplicable feeling of <em>standing on a completely different floor</em> sent her tumbling into the girl next to her. She didn't hit directly enough to bring Shiho down with her; instead she bumped the other girl's arm, stumbled around trying to regain balance, and crashed painfully into the back of a large wooden object that definitely <em>hadn't </em>been standing behind Shiho a moment before...</p><p>...and Kyo's head smacked into said object, spawning an explosion of white splotches across her field of vision that faded, for just a slice of a minute's time, into blackness.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho had closed her eyes, so she hadn't <em>seen</em> what Kyo had. All she knew was that something had cut across their conversation — and what it had <em>sounded</em> like was one of those new-tech, voice-controlled "AI" digital assistants for computers and phones, the ones that always seemed to have the voices of women. It had maybe been coming from Kyo's pocket (hadn't Shiho seen Kyo holding her phone before Ann had gotten all up in her face?) and it had maybe said something about finding something and navigation... and then a headache had flared up, and Shiho had snapped her eyes shut against it: any chance of making smart sense of what had happened flew the coop. She bowed her head, trying to get a grip on herself...</p><p>"Uwaaaaah?!" she heard Kyo cry out.</p><p>Her eyes sprang open. Shiho opened her mouth to ask what was wrong — but her sense of sight now showed her flash-froze her on her feet and did nothing to help her pounding headache.</p><p>The smaller girl bumped into her arm. Shiho made a belated grab to catch Kyo. Reflex, mostly, for in that moment she barely even understood that Kyo had stumbled into her and fallen over. Then she heard a hard, wooden thump. Kyo hadn't fallen all the way, she saw out of the corner of her eyes. Something had gotten in the way, gotten between girl and the floor she was toppling over onto. Shiho grabbed her by the shoulders before she could slump down, and winced when she saw that Kyo's head was bleeding a little from under her hair. Whatever she'd fallen into, she'd hit her head... Shiho knew head injuries... the blood probably wasn't a big issue, head injuries that bled always looked worse than they really were...</p><p>What had Kyo fallen into, though? Shiho's brain felt like its gears were grinding and screeching at the wrongness. It was like she'd been dreaming, and the scene had suddenly changed. And staring at the obstruction, the piece of furniture that Kyo had smacked her head against, drove this even further home.</p><p>They were in some kind of church or chapel. Kyo Morinaga had hit her head against a finely-finished wooden pew that had been standing just behind Shiho. Something large, a statue with arms spread up and out in acceptance of unseen adulation, dominated the front of the church, a colorful and circular stained-glass window ablaze with light behind it.</p><p>Shiho's eyes were drawn up and away from this monolithic tribute before she'd given it a real examination, to the vibrant green leaves and bright-red petals of rose-bearing plants set in the arches and pillars above. They were growing out of apparently in-built planters all across the ceiling, from the front of the chapel to the back of it. Her eyes followed them, and landed on the stained glass windows in the rear. They seemed to feature two mirrored images of the same kingly profile the statue depicted. Her first thought was that if a man were able to worship himself a god and had happened to possess a <em>lot</em> of money, he probably would have turned his garage into a shrine to himself, one that looked exactly like this church.</p><p>Shiho's eyes drifted to the front of the line of pews between herself and the back of the chapel. Then she looked at the pew behind her, which Kyo had fallen against. She reached out and placed a hand on it. Tapped it, to ensure its solidity. Then she brought the same hand up to her face and slowly moved her own fingertips down past her eyes, so close that she felt the urge to blink and had to resist it. Not dreaming? This wasn't a dream —</p><p>"...uuuuuuh..."</p><p>Shiho yelped, and steadied her hold on Kyo as the girl shifted. Once she had a good grip, Shiho turned Kyo around so that she sat on the floor, with her back to the pew's rear side. Shiho wished she could have done better; with the pew's backboard leaning back<em>ward</em> as it was, Kyo's head and shoulders had to hunch forward for this work.</p><p>Her eyes fluttered open and she mumbled something rude that Shiho sometimes heard Kamoshida say when he thought no one was listening. Her arm slowly raised itself... Shiho realized she was moving to rub at her head injury. Kneeling down quickly next to Kyo, Shiho caught her wrist before she could chance aggravating the injury.</p><p>"Careful, you're bleeding," Shiho warned. "You hit your head on the pew pretty hard..."</p><p>Kyo opened one bleary eye, which Shiho could see behind her hair, then closed it. Shook her head, to clear it probably, then opened both. The motion had the side effect of sweeping the hair out from over her left eye anyway.</p><p>"...Izzis... is this a church?" Kyo asked, slurring at first but finding her voice with impressive quickness.</p><p>"Um, it looks like it, but it's a weird one," Shiho answered. Kyo might not even be able to see the stained glass windows from down here, let alone the statue. "Don't move just yet, alright? I have, um... well, I have some gauze and bandages in my bag..."</p><p>"Y'usually carry that kinda stuff around?" Kyo asked, looking up at Shiho dubiously. Shiho, who'd been at the point of slinging her school bag off her shoulder and onto the floor, paused at the question. She sighed, then, and made up an excuse. "It's for practice," she said. "Just in case. Sometimes my bag is just closer than the gym's first aid kit, and you know. I could always get hurt on the way home."</p><p>"Seems like a bit of a micromanagey kinda precaution t'me..." Kyo mumbled, still staring.</p><p>Shiho had to force herself to keep eye contact to maintain her pretense of honesty. It helped, a bit, that Kyo's eyes still looked worryingly unfocused, which gave Shiho something else to think about besides the truth that the lie was meant to obscure. That something else was a question: had Kyo been concussed? Shiho broke eye contact after a few seconds, when it seemed like she could do it without looking like she was looking away out of nerves. She stood up, turning slowly on the spot to make sense of her surroundings more purposefully this time.</p><p>"Where is this?" Shiho asked. "We were in the school gym, right? I remember being in the gymnasium... there weren't even any chairs left out, let alone... church benches. This is so freaky."</p><p>Kyo shook her head. "I didn't know somethin' like this would happen," she said. "Didn't <em>think </em>this would happen. That app... it's... I dunno. Maybe it's a hallucination again."</p><p>App? Hallucination? Shiho looked down at Kyo, who was digging in her pants pocket. Shiho knelt down next to her again. Kyo brought out her phone, and held it up. It looked like there was some kind of navigation app, displaying what appeared to be an activity notification:</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>PALACE MASTER: </strong>
  </span>
  <br/>
  <strong>- Suguru Kamoshida -</strong>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>ENTRY KEYWORDS:</strong>
  </span>
  <br/>
  <strong><span class="u">Location:</span> Shujin Academy</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong><span class="u">Cognition:</span> Castle</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong><span class="u">Distortion:</span> Pervert, ?, ?</strong>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>
      <em>WARNING!</em>
    </strong>
  </span>
  <br/>
  <strong>Unable to return to the real world</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>from present location.</strong>
</p><p>Shiho's hand clamped down over her mouth. Her eyes had widened incredulously at Kamoshida's name, but it was the "entry keyword" list that swept her fragile composure right out from under her and sent it crashing to the floor in a spray of shattered glass shards and dust.</p><p>She looked over her shoulder, where she could just barely see the upper half of the stained glass window over the top of the pews in front. Kyo shifted up beside her, and Shiho knew without checking that Kyo was trying to follow her gaze, find out what she was looking at. A moment later, Kyo let out a bewildered and disgusted string of profanities. It was as good a summary of Shiho's thoughts as anything that could have been plucked directly from her head.</p><p>There was no mistaking who the figure on the window was supposed to be. Suguru Kamoshida's distinctive chin and his prominent nose were hidden by the kingly, medieval-looking cape draped over him. But the shape of his eyes and his hair, which puffed out in a way that always made him easy to identify from behind (Shiho had made of use of that as a cue to take an different route to homeroom or lunch, on occasion) were very lovingly rendered. There was a crown atop that head of hair, and the cape, on closer inspection, wasn't just a patterned regal red... it was covered in <em>hearts.</em></p><p>Hearts in the sense of Valentine's Day chocolates shaped like hearts. Patterned across a king's robe. Draped over <em>his</em> shoulders. Shiho felt sick just looking at it. And as soon as she consciously realized that, she also noticed that her breathing had become harder and faster. She was almost hyperventilating. But she couldn't stop, and it was getting worse.</p><p>Shiho reached out, blindly snatching at the air beside her until her hands found Kyo's arm again. Both of her hands latched on tight, fingers clamped down on the sleeve of the black blazer that was the boy's uniform jacket. Kyo's arm felt unusually firm, far more than Ann's. It was a peripheral observation. Shiho couldn't take her eyes off the stained glass window. She'd realized something belatedly about the statue that was now hidden by the pews behind her. The arms had been spread out in acceptance of adulation. Spread out, along with the cape. And underneath it, Kamoshida was wearing... wearing... pants, shirt, stopwatch. Exactly as he did when he was teaching or coaching in the gym that had become the church...</p><p>"Whoa, whoa. Shiho!"</p><p>Kyo had jerked up and around front of her, easily wresting herself from Shiho's grip. Hands found Shiho's shoulders, holding her tightly in place; Shiho shrunk in on herself. But the colorful motion in front of her eyes, green and black and skin-color contrasting with wood and stone and red carpet... it yanked her eyes and mind away from the image and the snapshot memory of the statue. Kyo held her steady by the shoulders, then let go. Now she brought her hands up and put them on either side of Shiho's face, gently holding her head there, forcing Shiho to keep her eyes in front of her instead of turning them the side.</p><p>"Easy! Easy... breath slow. Breath slow."</p><p>Shiho's breathing returned to normal inside of a few seconds. Kyo's eyes were sharp, expressive. Shiho hadn't really noticed it before, but it was like everything Kyo felt or thought played across her eyes. There was confusion there. Confusion that morphed into anxiety, then a kind of <em>half-understood</em> confusion. Then, with a flick up and to the side... at the statue? ...it was anger. Shiho felt like she was watching eyes that were speed-reading their way through the process of figuring out what was going on.</p><p>As Shiho felt herself calm, Kyo slowly moved her hands away from Shiho's face. She reached over to the floor beside them, and picked up the phone. Shiho lowered her eyes. Her heart was still beating just a little too fast.</p><p>"Shit, that was <em>too</em> familiar," Shiho heard Kyo mutter under her breath. "What the fuck did that bastard... <em>shit</em>, stay down!"</p><p>This last was a sharp whisper of command. Kyo, who'd been getting to her feet to get a better look at the statue up front of the chapel, quickly crouched back down behind the pew next to Shiho.</p><p>Shiho tensed. She had heard what Kyo had seen. A door had opened at the front of the chapel, on the far side of the pews. And then there was a clank, clank, clank of metallic... boot-stomps? ...coming from that direction. Shiho thought it might have been armor, but maybe the kingly look of Kamoshida's image in the windows, as if drawn as a parody in a wacky, volleyball-focused political cartoon (did such cartoons exist?), and the word "castle" on Kyo's phone, maybe, maybe... maybe they had put that image in Shiho's head and she hadn't gotten back to thinking right enough to identify the sound.</p><p>Maybe they were knights in armor. Maybe this was all a nightmare and the reality check with her fingers had lied to her.</p><p>Knights? Plural? There was more than one pair of clanking boots. She was hearing more than one pair of feet. The moment she understood this, Shiho felt Kyo grab her hand, tugging gently at her to follow the green-haired girl along the back of the pews.</p><p>"We hafta get outta here!" Kyo whispered urgently. "There's some... <em>whack-jobs</em> in armor over there, it's bugnuts...!"</p><p>Had Kyo peeked around the pews while Shiho hadn't been looking? She couldn't move for a moment, couldn't even remember how to make the muscles go — but then, when Kyo tugged again, she sprang into motion, pushing up and doing a small hop to put her feet underneath her.</p><p>Whack-jobs in armor, Kyo had said. Bugnuts. It <em>had</em> to be a dream. Had to be. Only it was too vivid. Fear and fear and fear had expanded her awareness like a drug, a stimulant, and Shiho could barely think. It felt like she was playing volleyball's evil twin.</p><p>The clank, clank, clankers were marching down the center aisle, her ears told her, their feet partially muffled by the red carpet that criss-crossed the middle of the church.</p><p>Kyo guided her between two large pillars beneath a stone arch, in a crouch-walk that Shiho mimicked. She thought, randomly, that she was glad now for all the squats that volleyball training involved, for the home workout routine that Kamoshida himself had advised...</p><p>There was a door at the front! But bars between them and it... no, wait, a narrow gap between the pews and the pillar to the left of the gate. Just room enough for them to slip through to one side of the barred archway, maybe. Kyo was already trying to squeeze through, lowering herself to the ground and slithering between like a caterpillar or a worm or a snake. Shiho, ducking low enough to keep out of view behind the pews, looked back in fear when Kyo's boots slipped out of sight.</p><p>She caught a fleeting glimpse of a helmet. She was sure it was turned in another direction... the faceplate looked more like some kind of mask with vague facial features on it, and it was a deep blue...</p><p>Kyo's voice came at her from the other side of that narrow gap. "C'mon! They're gettin' closer!"</p><p>Shiho jerked her head back around. Kyo's eyes, sharp and alert and <em>afraid</em>, stared at her from the other side.</p><p>Shiho got down, angled her body, and wormed her way through the gap as Kyo had done. It was uncomfortable. Whoever had written the video game trope that women were skinny and could slip through gaps men couldn't was an <em>idiot</em>, a Christ-damned moron. <em>Men</em> didn't have two great stonking lumps of flesh sticking out of their fronts to get in the way in narrow spaces—!</p><p>She was through, and had to stop herself from inhaling loudly by covering her mouth with both hands, forcing slow breaths through her nose until she felt like she had enough oxygen again, remaining prone and wide-eyed, listening.</p><p>Kyo beckoned frantically at her to follow again. Flush with success and hope at having made it through the pillar and the pew, Shiho pushed back up into a crouch and followed Kyo to the door. They were moving away from the pews now... another large, obnoxious pillared arches stood between them and the armored <em>whack-jobs</em> that were clanking on through, obscuring any view of the larger room from where the girls were — and the reverse, Shiho hoped. Kyo straightened up just as Shiho was thinking they didn't need to stay low anymore. Shiho followed suit, relieved to be able to walk faster if needed... or to <em>run</em> as she so wanted to. But for now she controlled herself. Walking was quieter, and the floor seemed to be made of smooth, unyielding marble. Trying to run on this surface with the clankers so close by? Shiho figured they might as well blow an air horn, or knock over an inconveniently-placed pyramid of tin cans, or have one of those moments from the movies where someone's phone or beeper goes off when they're trying to sneak around gun-toting bad guys.</p><p>The doors at the front of the chapel were double doors, wooden and fancy like the pews. Kyo pulled the one on the right open and leaned to the side, peeking through but taking pains not to position herself nearer to where the clankers might still be able to see her.</p><p>"It's clear..." Kyo whispered, pulling it open. "Get through!"</p><p>Shiho dashed ahead. Kyo slipped through behind her, and yanked the door quickly back to an opened-just-a-crack position. There Kyo held it, gritting her teeth listening. Shiho stood very close behind Kyo, doing the same but also casting her eyes over the room they had taken refuge in.</p><p>Large, square, pillared. The spikes of what looked like raised metal grates lined the arches along the ceiling, pillared arches around a perfect square border for the majority of the room, a square within square walls. A fancy wooden chair sat with its back against each pillar on the inside of this inner square. From where they stood, a few green sofas were visible along the outer left wall behind the pillars. The right outer wall seemed to be bare, if just as fancy and gothic as the others, with a small table set against it, housing a lone glass vase. There were lit candles set up on the inside of a few of the pillars... maybe all of them, hard to tell from this angle...</p><p>On the side of the room opposite the two girls, another raised gate in an archway stood open. Shiho could see into a narrow passage, at the end of which was a room or corridor... beyond that, she couldn't see a thing from here. But everything in here looked like the inside of a castle. A castle that had to be a dream, never mind how many little details she could pick out if she looked at anything about the floors, the ceilings, the walls. It could only be a dream. It was too crazy <em>not</em> to be one.</p><p>And any dream in which she was trapped in a nightmare involving a castle and Kamoshida in a heart-patterned king costume, it had to be a nightmare. The most nightmarish of nightmares because she knew, Shiho just <em>knew</em> where it had to be going, the only direction that her traitor brain would take such a thing. She had to wake up before the worst part happened, before the king found them. Wake up, wake up, <em>wake up, WAKE UP </em>—</p><p>"...Sounds like they're on a patrol circuit..." she heard Kyo say, calling her back from a long, echoey tunnel. And Shiho was aware again. It still didn't feel like the dream it had to be.</p><p>The clanking didn't seem to be getting closer yet. It sounded to Shiho like it was going back in the direction it had come. Yes, Kyo was right: they were turning around, following a route, a patrol route. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. If she reminded herself it was a dream, the horrible sense of reality would surely fade, and —</p><p>But when Kyo whipped around and took her by the hand again, the girl's grip was firm and just a little bit painful: Kyo seemed to have gone some time without trimming her nails, and certainly hadn't filed them at all; they dug into her skin. Shiho winced. Pain had never been a part of her dreams, and she knew what pain felt like. Kyo's grip loosened.</p><p>"Sorry! But we can't stay here," Kyo whispered. "We need a place to hide. Then we can, we can... we can figure this out! C'mon, let's get movin'! There's only one direction we can even go, so standin' here thinkin' about it'd be really fuckin' stupid!"</p><p>Shiho nodded, opening her suddenly very dry mouth and answering with a sound of agreement that came out more like the croak of a toad.</p><p>Kyo led her by the hand across the room, as if she were the world's most punk-ass chivalrous knight... or rather, Kyo led her <em>around</em> the room. Shiho's <em>knight</em> seemed to think avoiding the inner square surrounded by raised metal bars was a precaution worth taking, and through the confused whorl of fear and blank astonishment that had descended over her perceptions like a slimy film, Shiho couldn't disagree with the idea.</p><p>Avoiding the big square part of the room that looked like it might snap shut and become a cage did indeed seem like a wise precaution.</p><p>Shiho had to bite back an urge to burst out into a mad cackle of laughter at the image of a punk-haired midget knight leading her past a trap as if she'd been a captured princess. She only managed it by the skin of her teeth, by reminding herself that there were armored clanking crazy people in the room they'd left behind and there might be more in the room or corridor or whatever lay ahead... and that in spite of what she was still repeating to herself, she wasn't dreaming.</p><p>When Kyo's grip tightened painfully again beneath the raised gate on the other side of the room — expecting it to slam shut before they could escape, maybe? — Shiho cherished the sensation. Every reminder that she was still awake could have been the shot in the arm that helped her escape this place, so she let it permeate her, like the fear. Like a drug.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 1-5: To Speak and Be Heard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>For as long as they remained friends, Kyo and Shiho would be painfully aware that neither of them would ever have told the other about their past or their trauma... if they hadn't happened to be trapped together in such a bizarre situation that neither of them had fully accepted the reality of it yet.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Five -<br/>"To Speak and Be Heard"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>I</strong>t was irritating.</p><p>Suguru Kamoshida heaved his chair back from his office desk with more force than was strictly needed, pushing to his feet with a roughness that barely managed to register on his catharsis scale. Most days, when he needed to vent his spleen, he at least had the team in for practice: he could always call in one of those shitstains on the reserve list and give them a good backhand for being useless at the sport. Or he could distract himself by calling one of the girls in... they wouldn't say anything, as long as he didn't go too far with it, didn't do it to any one girl too often... and they owed it to him anyway, for making him waste his time on training them when they could never be as fast or as strong, would always tire out sooner...!</p><p>The volleyball coach had to shake his head, grit his teeth, and breathe in. Breathe out. If he hadn't already sent Suzui off to deal with that Morinaga bitch...!</p><p>...It was probably just as well... Takamaki would only be less amenable if Suzui showed up to school with any obvious marks.</p><p>But that green-haired tomboy was a canker sore. A festering, cancerous lump fit for nothing but being <em>excised</em> and burned to ashes. And here Kamoshida stood, with no choice but to pretend he wanted her on his team. To pretend, in spite of the things he'd learned before school had started, from his colleague at Morinaga's previous school...! And the nerve of that girl's mother, to talk to him like that. As over the hill as she'd been, the woman had at least been attractive enough for his tastes... she should have been honored to have caught his eye... should have thrown herself on him, moved to tears by his acceptance...</p><p><em>On a brighter note,</em> he thought as he continued the ineffectual breathing exercise, <em>it's going to feel better than usual, teaching a skank like Kyo Morinaga what a woman's place in the world is. Her mother should thank me for that, too. For dispensing punishment where it's deserved. I might even let Suzui off the hook for a while, if I can just get Morinaga where I want her. On her knees, begging me not to crush her future like a sand castle on the beach...!</em></p><p>It wasn't exactly a cheering thought, but Kamoshida could barely tell the difference between cheer and catharsis anymore. All these ignorant kids scurrying around him all day, every day, none of them with any stinking clue how hard it was, to be saddled with them and their bitching and to be told he had to whip those selfsame <em>bitches</em> into decent enough shape to place well in the nationals...!</p><p>And Kobayakawa, that sniveling potato-man! Being so commiserating to Kamoshida's face, but still fucking around trying to find other ways to boost the school's reputation. It was bad enough when it was just the other teams and clubs. But that kid on probation who Kobayakawa had accepted at Shujin! Why wasn't it enough for the school that the volleyball team had Kamoshida's efforts behind it? Why did the man insist on wasting resources by paying lip service to some delinquent brat's dead-end future? Stupid politically-correct bullshit, that's what it was... pretending to care about a kid that wasn't worth caring about. A kid who hadn't even given enough of a shit about himself not to do something as stupid as assault some guy on the street!</p><p>Kamoshida tilted his head to the ceiling, sucked in another breath, and exhaled.</p><p>Never mind it all. He would do his job, and he already had a plan for the assault convict when the boy transferred in next week. Suzui would convince the slutty tomboy, and he would make Morinaga think better of trying to pretend she could live a man's life. Would pay her back for that obnoxious attitude, too. Or maybe Suzui wouldn't manage it, and he would have to make good on his promise to take her out of the starting lineup.</p><p>A promise he was more than willing to <em>reconsider</em>, if she asked nicely...</p><p>Kamoshida turned and strode to the door, slid it open, and stepped out into the hall. His work was done for the day. He knew Takamaki would be waiting, as agreed. It was just going to be dinner today, of course, but that was fine. Kamoshida knew that bimbo's type. Takamaki might act like she didn't want anything to do with him, but once she saw the benefits of being his girl, of being with a man who could give her what <em>he</em> could, she would open those lovely legs and be all his. He wouldn't need Suzui, then. He wouldn't need any of those squealing little pigs.</p><p>"...Oh, Kamoshida-sensei!"</p><p>Ugh, damn these brats. He had just reached the front door, when a soft girlish voice interrupted him. Putting on his best smile, Kamoshida turned. The girl who'd called out to him was a dainty little thing with curly, fluffy brown hair, wearing a pink sweater over her uniform, with patterned leggings and... ugh, she looked so childlike and boring. Even with that bulky sweater, he could tell she didn't have much going on underneath it.</p><p>What was her name, again...? Kamoshida could never be bothered to remember the names that went with student faces unless they were on one of the sports teams, or a prospect... or smoking hot like Takamaki. But he felt like he should remember this one, somehow...</p><p>"Yes? I'm on my way home, but if you need something, I've got time," said the volleyball coach, with sincerity he didn't feel. The girl straightened up a little, and half-bowed in apology.</p><p>"Thank you, and I'm sorry for taking your time!" she said. So meek and sickly sweet. Probably innocent as hell, too. "It's just that I have a relative, who just transferred in... I had hoped to meet her today, but she wasn't in her homeroom... u-um, I asked one of her classmates, and found out she left with a member of the girls' volleyball team. I wanted to ask, are they still here?"</p><p>Right, right. This was the Okumura girl that the slutty tomboy had bragged about being related to. He nodded, and watched her face light up with hope.</p><p>"You must mean Kyo Morinaga," said Kamoshida. "If you have the time to wait by the front gate, you can meet her on her way out. She wanted to talk with Suzui about the team, to help make up her mind about attending tryouts. She's around, but you're better off waiting there than combing the school for her — you might miss each other, if you do that."</p><p>"Oh, I see," Okumura answered. "I'll wait, then. It's, um, it's a little embarrassing to say this, but... I don't actually know what my relative looks like. I only have her name and homeroom number..."</p><p>And she trailed off into an apologetic silence, punctuated by a silent question.</p><p>Really, now? So the adorable little pampered princess had no idea what kind of delinquent her cousin really was, either. That was rich. Kamoshida found he couldn't help himself. He turned his face away from Okumura before answering her this time, unable to keep the sneer entirely off his face, even if he managed to keep the voice that emerged from it pleasant and helpful-sounding.</p><p>"You'll know her when you see her. She's the one with the green hair, wearing the boys' blazer and pants..."</p><p>There was silence behind him. Kamoshida imagined that Okumura looked horrified or bewildered by his description. Good, Kamoshida thought. Okumura at least dressed and behaved like a woman should. Wouldn't want her being influenced by that lascivious little homewrecker just because the two happened to be related.</p><p>But Okumura's voice, when she spoke again, she was half-laughing with self-depreciating humor.</p><p>"Green hair and a boy's uniform? I should have made sure I knew who I was looking for... Kyo-chan walked right by me on my way to her classroom, and I didn't even know it was her! Thank you so much for your help, Kamoshida-sensei. I won't hold you up any longer."</p><p>"Anytime," Kamoshida said pleasantly, glancing back at Okumura. She was smiling. There was pure gratitude and nothing else on her innocent, innocent face.</p><p>
  <em>On second thought, that's the kind of naive purity that I'd love to poke a hole in.</em>
</p><p>It was really too bad that Okumura's father happened to be one of the few people that Kamoshida really could not afford to make an enemy of. He pulled open the door and stepped out. There Takamaki was, her and her sexy red tights, hovering just outside the school gate. She was twirling one of those beautiful pigtails around a finger, her back to the schoolbuilding, giving Kamoshida a clear opening to drink in her perfect figure with impunity.</p><p>Kamoshida grinned and ran a hand over his chin, double-checking to make sure his shave over lunch had been a smooth one. He put Morinaga and Okumura out of his mind — it was time to turn on the charm. Just a week or so more of this, and he would have Ann Takamaki eating out of the palm of his hand. He was sure of it.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>The short passage on the other side of the room-with-far-too-many-inexplicable-chairs indeed opened into a corridor. To Kyo's immediate left, a dead end and a sofa... to the right, a wide hallway that lead up a long, but not very steep, set of stairs with a closed set of doors at the end of it, leading either deeper into or further out of the castle that she and her new, surprise best friend had inexplicably been warped into the middle of.</p><p>She'd wondered for a minute there whether she should be thinking "castle" or "cathedral" here, but the chapel had been way too small for a cathedral, while the room and hallway that branched off from it, too large and grand for a stand-alone church. Combine that with the freakish, kingly costume sported by the statue and window-image of Kamoshida... well, it wasn't exactly rocket science, yeah? Castle was the word of the day, no question.</p><p>
  <em>Well, one of them. Word of the Day Number Two would appear to be... "pervert."</em>
</p><p>Kyo had to exercise an effort of will to loosen her grip on Shiho's hand again. There were some days when the green-haired teenager really, really wished she could be a bit slower on the uptake. It was easy enough to see, though, that she figured just about anyone could have picked up the signals this time; the writing had been almost <em>literally</em> on the wall. On the windows and on her own mobile phone's high-res display, to be specific.</p><p>But Kyo also figured she would have been better off not cluing in to the possibility that her soon-to-be-volleyball-coach had sexually harassed a girl (or worse) while she was still trying to wrap her head around <em>where the fuck she and Shiho even were right now</em>. It wasn't just a gross, horrible thing that pissed her off, it was also a big mother-humping distraction that had reared its ugly head smack in the middle of a <em>potential</em> survival situation. Bad timing like whoa, son!</p><p>Hearts on the king's robes in the window, though... Shiho's panic upon seeing Kyo's phone... probably Shiho'd zoomed right on in to that same word, <em>pervert</em>, knowing what it had to mean, even if she had no idea why it was displayed there...</p><p>Pervert. It could be a funny word or an arousing one, in the right kind of context. But it was not the kind of word any girl wanted to see associated with a physically large man who happened to be in charge of any part of their high school student life, let alone a sports club that may have been the centerpiece of their graduation plans. Kyo wanted to find a quiet place to just sit down, close her eyes, and run through what this must mean for Shiho — what it might mean for other girls on the team, and what it would mean for Kyo herself if she went to those tryouts.</p><p>Joining the team to get closer to Kamoshida, to dig up dirt on him and see if she could give him his just desserts for what he'd done to Ryuji and the Track Team... well, it might not have been the smartest thing Kyo had ever thought of doing, after all. And considering that stunt she'd pulled back in Tobita Shinchi last year, that was saying a <em>hell</em> of a lot. All she'd been risking with that was being thrown out on her butt and maybe roughed up by a bouncer or something. This, though...</p><p>Kyo hesitated at the end of the passage, leaning forward to look toward the stairs. But there were no more of those weird armor guys. If any of them came this way while she and Shiho were climbing the stairs, though... or came through the door at the top...</p><p>Aha! A side-door! Right across from where Kyo and Shiho had emerged, even. Perfect. She hadn't seen it until they were right on top of it, since it was a little off to the side and out of view from the chair-square room. Kyo was probably just clutching at straws, but she had a good feeling about this room, a gut feeling. Without even opening the door, she felt they might be safe taking a breather there.</p><p>"Let's try here, first," Kyo said.</p><p>She glanced back at Shiho. The girl was pale, with a thin sheen of nervous sweat glistening across her forehead in the flickering candlelight. Candlelight. Candlelight from golden candle-stands. Kyo wanted to get up close to one, see if it really was made of gold. But her instincts cried at her to waste no time, to find a place to hide...</p><p>...and Shiho had the same idea, looked like! The brunette made a move for the door almost as soon as Kyo gestured toward it. Kyo let go of her hand, falling in behind her companion for the moment. It occurred to Kyo, only now, that Shiho had a pretty well-developed body for her age. Like Makoto. Lithe, fit. Prominent hips, healthy-looking bust. So in the eyes of a man like Suguru Kamoshida...</p><p>...</p><p><em>If that's the kinda guy he really is, </em>Kyo thought,<em> I'm gonna enjoy ripping him to pieces. Metaphorically speakin', of course. But I might be tempted to get literal, given the chance...</em></p><p>Shiho opened the door a crack as quietly as she could, imitating Kyo from a second ago, and peeked inside. Then she opened it all the way.</p><p>"Looks empty..." said Shiho. She kept her voice low, somewhere in the unnamed nether-space between a murmur and a whisper.</p><p>Kyo stepped up next to Shiho, looking into the room. It was small, square, with a table and chairs in the middle, maybe made of redwood or something. Kyo couldn't tell one wood from another, but it was wood and it was dark and reddish, so it was the first word to pop into her mind. And speaking of red things, there were also luxurious red curtains draped over the corners of the room. Yellow sofas sat against the left and right walls, and two large cabinets made of that same dark wood stood in back, along with a small table and vase — another of those? — and the floor was smooth, marble, done in a diagonal black-and-white checkered pattern... not unlike the hall outside, Kyo realized belatedly, though the squares on the floor in here were much bigger.</p><p>As Kyo stepped inside, Shiho closed the door behind them... and...</p><p>"Whoa!" Kyo breathed, taking a step back. Shiho let out a similar exclamation at the same moment, so Kyo knew this time that it wasn't just her seeing things.</p><p>The entire room seem to blur, to cross-fade for the space of a second over another room entirely. Several pieces of furniture from the castle side-room remained, but the rest of it morphed into the color, texture, and bright, airy lighting of a classroom at Shujin Academy. There were no desks and no teacher's podium, but for a moment Kyo could see the chalkboards in the front and back of class, and the window that looked out on the school courtyard...</p><p>...she swayed dizzily, putting a hand to her forehead. And they were in the castle side-room again. Kyo gawked at the walls, turning her eyes slowly left and right to be sure she was seeing things right.</p><p>"What was that?" Shiho asked in a shaky voice.</p><p>She cautiously stepping past Kyo, toward the table. Kyo watched in mute confusion when Shiho reached out and softly rapped her knuckles atop the table, confirming its solidity. Then Shiho turned to look at Kyo. Wide eyes complimented a sickly palor to give her the unmistakable look of a girl about to fall apart at the seams.</p><p>"...Is this a castle? Or are we in a classroom?" Shiho asked. "What's going on? And what was that... that thing on your phone? You know something about this... right? Right?!"</p><p>Shiho's voice went quite a bit higher-pitched when asking about the phone. Kyo couldn't help it; she winced. It couldn't be a nice feeling for Shiho, to think that her dirty little secrets were being aired out to a stranger against her wishes.</p><p>But there was something, something about the question Shiho had asked before that. Was this a castle, or a classroom? Or was it maybe both? ...What could that even mean? Was the chapel they had left behind really the gymnasium too, then? And what did <em>that</em> mean? Kyo felt like she was on the right track, but she had no idea where that train could be headed.</p><p><em>If the guy runnin' it has a big head, he might think of the gym as the place people go to worship him,</em> she thought randomly, looking around the room.</p><p>But then she shook her head. It was a weird thought, and she didn't know what use it could be in their current situation. Still, the app that had caused this... the keyword system. A location, a... an unflattering personality trait, maybe, although sometimes that space had been filled in with an outright crime... and a word like "castle" or "museum..."</p><p>She had to know. So Kyo looked Shiho in the eyes, those wide, scared eyes. Feeling her lips tighten into a thin line, she tried to figure out how to approach the elephant in the room without causing a lethal stampede. This sort of thing wasn't the easiest thing in the world to admit to someone else... Kyo knew from experience that Band-Aid Theory was the worst approach to take<br/>(<em>WHAT WHAT DO YOU WANT IS IT MONEY PLEASE JUST DON'T TELL MY</em>)<br/>with a situation this sensitive, so she would have to be delicate, would have to handle it with kid gloves. And that was something Kyo wasn't so practiced at doing. Blunt force and snark were her area, not so much the gentle or comforting kinda stuff.</p><p>Partly to stall for time, she looked over her shoulder and found a latch on the door. It was the work of half a second to turn it and lock the double-doors of the side-room behind them. Now if any guards came to check this passage, the room would be locked and hopefully they would just pass it by...</p><p>"Shiho," Kyo began tentatively, without looking back. "Sit down, okay? You look like death on legs right now."</p><p>A dry snort of a laugh called Kyo's attention back to the girl in front of her. Shiho looked like she wanted to crack up but her voice wasn't cooperating with the urge. She took a breath, closed her eyes. Blindly she reached back to pull the nearest chair around, and seated herself. The wooden chairs had cushions on the seats and backboards, every bit as luxurious as could be expected of furniture inside of a castle. If the circumstances had been different, it would have been quite a comfortable room to relax in and maybe enjoy a nice meal.</p><p>"You look pretty freaked, yourself," Shiho said finally, when her voice decided to work.</p><p>Kyo smiled a crooked smile, shrugging and nodding to concede the point. She walked over to the table, stepping around Shiho to grab the chair next to her. Pausing for just a moment, wondering if this was the right approach, she dragged the chair around the table so that she could sit at the corner right next to, but also in front of, Shiho. She angled the chair so that she was facing the other girl, rested an elbow on the table, and leaned forward.</p><p>"Before I tell my story, Shiho, I need you t' be straight with me..." Kyo began, hesitant, keeping her voice low. Shiho straightened, and drew back a little. Kyo bit her lip, but pushed on. "...Has Kamoshida... ever... done anythin' to you? Touched you or tried t' pressure you into... uh, anything you're not... comfortable with?"</p><p>
  <em>Shit, that sounded ungraceful, even to me. Sorry, Shiho...</em>
</p><p>Shiho's face twisted, and she looked down. Kyo brought her hands up and turned them both over, holding them palms-up, almost cupping them in supplication.</p><p>"Look, I'm not gonna tell anyone and I sure as hell ain't gonna judge..." Kyo said — whispered, really. "But that weird app on my phone, uh... seems t' think the word 'pervert' applies to him. And the way you reacted in there..." ...<em>and the hearts on the cape in the window... </em>"...Look, I... I know you don't know me, so — "</p><p>"It was last year," Shiho blurted out. "And I don't think it'll happen again. He — "</p><p>She shut her mouth, covering it with her hands. Kyo grimaced: she'd actually heard Shiho's teeth snap together.</p><p>But even the few words Shiho had let out before clamming up had been telling. <em>It was last year,</em> she'd said. The season that had ended with a great game (according to Makoto) in which Shiho had scored the winning point, but also with Kamoshida criticizing the team's performance. That Shiho had been so willing to accept that criticism as correct, in spite of what Kyo now knew might have been happening... or more likely, had been trying to convince herself that Kamoshida had been honest with that criticism, because acknowledging it as bullshit would mean accepting the truth head-on, that he was taking advantage of her and wouldn't stop as long as he knew he could get away with it... <em>I don't think it'll happen again</em>, the other half of what she'd said.</p><p>Kyo closed her eyes and sighed.</p><p>"...You haven't reported him?" she asked gently. It was a rhetorical question. Of course Shiho hadn't reported him. If she had, she'd probably end up kicked off the team, ignored by everyone who didn't want to believe the accusation. And when a girl made that kind of accusation and couldn't prove it... well, it was easy to believe that an immature teenager would make up a vicious lie to slander an adult that they didn't like... and once people believed that, it would be really hard to shake it off...</p><p>Things like that had a nasty way of turning right back on the accuser. It was easy to see why a crime like that might go unreported. Kamoshida could probably even have spun it so that it looked like Shiho had been trying to solicit favoritism in exchange for <em>favors</em>, painting himself as the virtuous adult resisting temptation and Shiho as the petty, vengeful, promiscuous delinquent. Adults would preach about reporting such a thing to an authority figure, but at the end of the day... the cogs that made the real world go 'round? They didn't turn as smoothly or as quietly as adults wanted to believe they did.</p><p>The Great Machine was very, very prone to mechanical failure, and assholes like Kamoshida were always there, ready and willing to exploit those kinks and glitches. What a monumental, titanic pain in the ass it was. Kyo considered herself an intelligent girl, but even she had no idea where to begin when it came to fixing that shit.</p><p>Shiho didn't answer the question, didn't even move her hands away from her mouth.</p><p>Kyo figured this was as far as she was going to get right now, which was vexing. She didn't know for sure, but Kyo thought that the severity of Kamoshida's abuse had to be a relevant detail in their current circumstances. A statue of the man himself — at the head of a chapel, for fuck's sake! But Shiho might as well have been a girl-shaped clam shell, at this point, snapped tight shut against any further questioning. So Kyo took out her phone and unlocked it. It jumped straight to the navigator app, which she held up in full view.</p><p>It was only now that she realized that Shiho's eyes were shining with barely-contained tears. Ah, jeez. Now Kyo just felt like shit for even prodding her at all.</p><p>"...I won't ask any more about it unless you decide t' talk," Kyo murmured. "So just listen for now, okay? I'm gonna tell you everythin' I know about what's happenin' to us here. It's not much, I'm as confused as you are. But... this ain't the first confusin' thing that's happened t' me since my feet crossed Shujin's front steps, yeah?"</p><p>Shiho was staring at the phone fixedly, shaking a little but. But she nodded... it looked like Shiho was calming down, but her hands were still over her mouth.</p><p>Kyo took a deep breath, and began to tell her story, starting with her first meeting with Suguru Kamoshida a week before...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho couldn't take her eyes off of the phone in Kyo's hand. The words were still unchanged. Suguru Kamoshida. Pervert. It would have been easy enough to laugh off the accusation, to put on an honest face and talk about how when people were jealous of greatness or couldn't take the pressure of expectations, they turned around and tried to sully the image the person or group that they were jealous of. Or tried to make excuses for themselves, tried to pin blame on the ones pressuring them. She could have talked about how students that couldn't do well on exams would whine about how useless and unfair school was, how it was society that sucked, not them — and that people who spread lies about Kamoshida were doing the same kind of immature thing, in a more vicious, ill-willed way... so it was ridiculous, and you shouldn't listen to those kind of rumors...</p><p>...But there was no lying about it now. Shiho knew that. Kyo had seen her at her most honest, her most vulnerable. Kyo had seen how afraid she was. And the castle, the church, the statue and the windows. Shiho couldn't lie with a straight face when she was surrounded by a physical reconstruction of every horrible thing she had ever thought about the man and the corner he'd driven her into. She just couldn't. It was like she'd fallen down a rabbit hole and Wonderland was a land of her worst fears made manifest. All the lies that her mind whispered she should tell, every one of them felt obvious, made of papier-mâché, held together with child-safe school glue and a few flimsy bits of Scotch tape.</p><p>Kyo, who had seen so much of the truth on her face in the space of a second, would surely recognize a lie like that the moment she spoke it. So Shiho did the only thing she could think of, and put her hands over her mouth, preventing herself from saying any more. But she had already spoken, had admitted to it, just a little of it. Just enough that she might as well have admitted everything at once.</p><p>And even she could tell that part of what she had said to Kyo just then was a lie. <em>I don't think it'll happen again.</em> Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! She <em>totally</em> expected it to happen again! It had happened twice already. She expected, no, she <em>knew</em> that it was only a matter of time until he called her to his office again. And every time he did, she found it a relief to be let go, even if he was angry, even if the first thing he did was belittle her and strike her with the back of his hand...</p><p>...She could deal with something as pedestrian as physical pain. Everyone on the team was dealing with it. She could deal with it too, for them, for her future. But knowing that he might want something else, for the third time, and that it might go further... <em>would</em> go further, because he knew she wouldn't say anything against it now, knew that she wouldn't risk her future...</p><p>"...I won't ask any more about it unless you decide t' talk."</p><p>Kyo's voice was quiet, comforting. Oh, how Shiho wanted to open herself up to it. To such an understanding voice. To hear it tell her that it wouldn't judge her for what she'd given up, what else she would have to give up, would have to give up <em>soon</em>, for sure. To know that someone knew, and that she wasn't alone. But if Kyo Morinaga knew about this now, then the chances of Kamoshida getting his chosen replacement for Nishikawa had just dropped to somewhere below zero. So it was obvious what was going to happen next, wasn't it?</p><p>"...So just listen for now, okay? I'm gonna tell you everythin' I know about what's happenin' to us here..."</p><p>Shiho managed a nod. But her attention was only half-focused on Kyo's voice now. She had managed to steady herself, and it took all her willpower to keep the tingling of her spine, the hammering of her heart, from translating into gasping, panting, more shaking. Shiho realized that maybe if she didn't escape this castle, if the crazy people in armor caught her and killed her, it would all be over and she wouldn't have to worry about it.</p><p>Wouldn't have to worry about Kamoshida taking her off the team. Wouldn't have to worry about asking him to please, please reconsider.</p><p>Kyo's story was strangely calming in its weirdness. The transfer student spoke, keeping her voice low and calm, about how her mother had chosen Shujin Academy because Haru Okumura, a wealthy relative, was also a senior there. She spoke of meeting Kamoshida for the first time, and of her own distaste for how obvious it had been when Kamoshida and Kobayakawa began giving her special treatment because of her familial relation to the CEO of a food company (wait, was Haru Okumura one of <em>those</em> Okumuras?)... and then, Kyo's unusual interest in joining a sports team during senior year had been answered not with a lecture about focusing on her college entrance exams, as Kyo had expected, but rather by Kamoshida trying to talk her into trying out for the volleyball team.</p><p>Shiho nodded absently at this point. Kamoshida had said something about endurance. He was interested in recruiting Kyo because it would take less work to condition her for the nationals, and was gambling on her being coordinated enough to carry her weight once she'd practiced at the sport. Shiho realized that her fingers were fidgeting with each other on the table. When had she lowered her hands? Well, it wasn't like she was going to blurt out her life story by accident anymore, so it didn't matter...</p><p>Kyo then went on to describe a strange experience she'd had the next day, when she'd discovered this bizarre navigation app on her phone. Activating it had prompted a hallucination ("...which I'm halfway sure wasn't a hallucination at all, now that <em>this</em> is a thing," Kyo added, looking around the room, lips pursed like they might be if she were trying to swallow a sour candy) in which she had been greeted by a doppelganger of herself with eerie yellow eyes in place of the green ones Shiho could see looking back at her.</p><p>"This copy-girl said somethin' about there bein' a castle 'there already,'" Kyo said, eyes widening. The phone was nowhere to be seen now. When had Kyo put it in her pocket? Shiho blinked to clear her vision. She felt like she wasn't even here in the room, like this was all happening to someone else, someone who wasn't her.</p><p>"A castle?" Shiho asked Kyo. "You mean this place?"</p><p>"I dunno. Maybe," Kyo admitted helplessly, shrugging and hugging her elbows. "She said some other stuff, too, like, 'don't disappoint me out there' and callin' me, uh, 'Me-chan.' But I can't make heads or tails of it. Time un-froze itself and no one else in the square acted like anythin' was wrong. I had t' sit down for a while, but after that, it was a normal day..."</p><p>So Kyo skipped ahead to the night after, when she had sat down in her bedroom to get a better look at the app. Shiho was a little impressed with the girl's ingenuity, when Kyo told her how she'd realized she could use her laptop's verbal screen-reader and a copy of the Japanese dictionary to run through possible keywords while she slept.</p><p>"...So the next mornin', I saw that one o' the entries was almost filled in. The words 'Castle,' 'Shujin Academy,' and 'Pervert' all worked as one entry. I didn't know what t' make of it, so I put it outta my mind for the time being and just enjoyed my time off until school."</p><p>"Then you took your phone out today," Shiho whispered. "You were looking at it again while you were waiting for me." Then, Shiho jumped. Something had just clicked. "Oh, no! Haru-san!"</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>Kyo must have been baffled by how dismayed she sounded. Shiho gave her a sheepish half-smile.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I met Haru-san near the school shop. We were cleaning up Ann's spill, when Haru-san got on her knees next to us. I was fretting about not having the time because I needed to meet someone. Haru-san said she'd clean up, because she was meeting someone at school anyway... we... walked right past her on our way to the gym..."</p><p>Shiho folded her hands in front of her mouth and closed her eyes.</p><p>"Oh, she's probably still looking around school for her missing cousin..."</p><p>Kyo didn't answer right away, so Shiho opened her eyes. The look on Kyo's face was... complicated. Shiho wasn't sure what Kyo could be feeling, but she was suddenly sure that Kyo wasn't super-excited to meet her cousin.</p><p>Finally, Kyo said, "...I didn't know she wanted t' meet me. Somethin' my mom put her up to, if I had t' guess. Probably left as soon as she knew she'd missed me."</p><p>Shiho shook her head. "I don't think she would. She said, and I quote, 'I'm meeting a cousin who just transferred from Osaka! I can't wait to welcome her to Tokyo.'" Shiho paused, trying to remember. "I think she also said she wanted to ask you what food from Osaka is like. She sounded really excited to have a family member attending school with her..."</p><p>Kyo grinned a bit crookedly, a little falsely.</p><p>"...Yeah, well, I bet that'll change when she realizes I'm not one of those upper-crust proper <em>yamato nadeshiko</em> types. Anyway, I can worry about Haru after we get outta here. Back on track: yeah, I was lookin' at my phone while I waited for you. I put it in my pocket without lockin' it, and I... may've forgot to set it to lock by itself, after, y'know. The keywords. Thing."</p><p>The green-haired girl (greenhead? ...no, that sounded like a pimple...) scratched her head and looked away. Shiho thought about this for a little while, and sucked in a breath to steady herself when she understood what the trigger must have been.</p><p>"So when I corrected you about Kamoshida's full name..." Shiho began slowly.</p><p>Kyo nodded, picking up the thought where Shiho had left it. "Yeah. The phone accepted it as a keyword," she said. "And I guess it makes this happen automatically when it has a full set, whatever <em>this</em> is that's happened!"</p><p>
  <em>So this is happening because of you!</em>
</p><p>The thought rushed to the forefront of Shiho's mind, unbidden, bringing with it a rush of unjustified anger. Shiho gritted her teeth and covered her face with her hands. Unjustified was the operative word, there, and Shiho wasn't impulsive enough not to know that. Kyo hadn't done any of this on purpose. She was as much a victim being swept up in everything as Shiho was. And did Shiho have any right to be angry, really, after what she had been prepared to do to this girl? No. No, Shiho didn't think so. So where did that leave her and her aimless anger?</p><p>Nowhere. Boxed in, bottled up with no way out — exactly as Shiho and Kyo were now. Not exactly a constructive emotion. If only she could leave it behind when they stepped out of this room.</p><p>"...Are you feelin' up to movin'?" Kyo said, almost as if in response to this thought. "We might be safe in here for a little while, but there's no way out except for the way we came. We gotta find a way outta the buildin'..."</p><p>She pulled her phone out again and looked at it ruefully, at the warning that said they couldn't return to the <em>real world</em> from their present location.</p><p>"Looks like our real point of entry's a one-way door," Kyo grumped, stuffing it back into the pocket it had come from.</p><p>Go out? Into the halls? Shiho wanted to pull her legs up onto the chair and hug them to her chest, and just stay there. Going out meant possibly running into the clankers again, and Shiho's mind immediately jumped to the scenario she'd imagined when she was still under the impression that this was a dream, a nightmare. But Shiho also knew that Kyo was right. There was no way out. If someone came into this room, and surely the castle guards had a key to it, their only potential hiding places were the cabinets in the back. And it wasn't like they could just hide here forever. They needed food, water... and Shiho's mother would go crazy with worry if Shiho didn't make it back home on time. Kyo's parents, too, probably.</p><p>They needed to get moving while the way was clear, and maybe... maybe they could sneak out...</p><p>If they could get out of the castle, could they get back to the school? To the "real world," as Kyo's navigation app called it?</p><p>"...Alright," Shiho said at last, standing up. "You're right. Let's go. I'll follow your lead... you seem to have a knack for this sneaking-around stuff."</p><p>Kyo laughed a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her head. "W-well, there was this one time I infiltrated a brothel disguised as a dude... and this other time I sorta followed a girl gang around for a few weeks so I could watch the fights they got into from a distance... so, uh, I have some experience with... uh... sneakin'... around. Not so much with castle warfare, though. Not sure if it'll help us in here!"</p><p>Shiho didn't know what to make of that baffling confession, so she decided not to say anything except, "...Yikes, again. Sounds like you've lived a colorful life, Kyo-san."</p><p>Kyo chuckled guiltily and hopped to her feet.</p><p>"I've done my share o' stupid shit..." she mumbled as she turned to the door. "But here at Shujin... or, uh, back at the school? ...I'm hopin' to turn over a new leaf. See if this ugly little caterpillar-girl can metamorphize-or-whatever into a beautiful butterfly. Yeah? But I guess if we don't get outta here, that ain't gonna happen. So I'm glad if the skills I picked up in my stupid years are any help at all, now."</p><p>Kyo crept up to the door and opened it, letting the ambient near-silence of the hall flow in with the gentle stirring of displaced air. She stuck her head through, looked one way, and then then other.</p><p>"Looks clear."</p><p>Shiho closed her eyes, sucked in a breath, and slapped both of her cheeks again, as she had done outside of Kamoshida's office. Right. It was game time. Kyo had a point, too. It would be useful to have help from someone who was good at sneaking around, no matter what they'd done in the learning of how to do it. And Shiho was no slouch, herself. She had the speed, coordination, and endurance of a star volleyball player...! If the clankers saw them, she was confident that she could give them the slip if she had to, maybe, maybe even fight them off. She wouldn't be a burden... the two of them would be fine.</p><p>When Kyo stepped through the door, Shiho followed.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Kyo was glad, now, that she didn't need to guide Shiho around by the hand. Her new... friend? ...for lack of a better word to use in this situation, had been very close to a full-on panic when the guards had entered the chapel, and even when they'd made it through the door, Shiho had looked a little like she'd fall apart at any moment. Finding that empty side-room had been a real stroke of luck. Some time to sit, adjust, get a grip on the situation — even if only through Kyo's own really confusing past experience with the navigator thing — had been just what the doctor ordered.</p><p>Kyo also thought that maybe getting her suspicion about Shiho's history with Kamoshida out in the open might have been a good idea, too, if only because it meant that Shiho wouldn't be distracted by the question of <em>whether or not</em> Kyo suspected anything about it. Now, as far as Shiho was concerned, Kyo's suspicions were a known quantity. Shiho would probably want to make sure she kept quiet about them once they were out, but... both she and Kyo knew better than to devote brainpower to that problem while they were still in danger.</p><p>But getting confirmation of that had only raised more questions for Kyo, to the point where she was regretting her promise not to ask about it until Shiho was ready. For example... Shiho had insisted it had only happened the previous year, but when? Had it been a one-time thing, or was Kamoshida a repeat offender? Had he done anything like that to the other girls on the team? Kyo recalled thinking that Kamoshida was staring at a specific something or someone at the start-of-year assembly. Had it been Shiho? Or someone else?</p><p>Bluh, now Kyo was overthinking. She didn't know the circumstances yet, and hated being stuck with incomplete information. All her mind ever did in that situation was fill in the blanks with a whole lot of <em>if this, then what if that?</em> thinking, and it stressed her right the fuck out. It was an extension of the same problem she had with gossip... not knowing what was true and what wasn't made it hard not to think about all of the possibilities, both mundane and "out there," that could have been worth worrying about.</p><p>That had been the problem when she'd gotten her first hints that all wasn't right with her boyfriend's little sister, back then...</p><p>The passage they had traversed to get away from the chapel was (now that Kyo looked at it) flanked by two tall rose-plants in pots. Two green sofas sat against the wall beneath a high window, along with another pot on a table. To the left, the hallway ascended that long stairway, flanked by two gleaming golden candle-stands. It wasn't a particularly steep set of stairs, as Kyo had observed before. But it had railings on either side of it, anyway. Purely for aesthetic effect? Or maybe the architect really had expected people to be that bonehead-clumsy that rails were considered necessary.</p><p>Now that they weren't actively hiding from crazy people in heavy armor (and Kyo figured she would hear them before she saw them if there were any more), there was no reason for them to slow themselves down or tire themselves out by doing the duck-walk everywhere. So Kyo just strolled on toward the stairs, pausing by one of the candle stands.</p><p>"Watch our six, alright?" she said absently, running a finger slowly along one gleaming tentacle of candelabrum. <em>Huh... wild! I think this thing might actually be made o' solid gold... if we could only sneak one o' these out with us!</em></p><p>"Pardon?" Shiho asked behind her.</p><p>Kyo sighed, scratching her neck with the hand that had a moment before been feeling up a piece of furniture that was probably worth more than several months at her mother's job. She couldn't help it. She'd never been so close to even the <em>suggestion</em> of wealth like that.</p><p>"...Watch out behind us. 'Watch my six,' yeah? Six as in the bottom of a clock. 'Twelve,' 'six,' 'three,' 'nine o' clock.'"</p><p>Kyo held up a hand and turned it around in rhythm with her explanation, pointing forward, backward, right, and left with her thumb and index finger. Shiho nodded, eyes widening in recognition.</p><p>"Okay, okay, I know this after all... if you say there's a clanker at three o' clock, you mean it's to our right."</p><p>"Right," Kyo said, putting her foot on the stairs and beginning to climb. "Anyway, there's two of us, so you keep an eye out behind and I'll watch ahead. Don't wanna get caught off-guard."</p><p>"Will do."</p><p>Kyo thought (as they neared the door) that Shiho sounded a little more confident now. Maybe having a solid team plan was all a volleyball veteran needed to feel like she had a grip on things. Maybe that was even why Shiho had lost her grip on whatever was happening with Kamoshida: whatever it was, she was dealing with it alone, and couldn't count on anyone else who found out to help her with it. Or maybe Kyo was overthinking again... no, she was <em>definitely </em>overthinking again!</p><p>
  <em>Stupid brain, shut up — I need to focus! Castle first, school later!</em>
</p><p>When they reached the door at the top, Kyo gripped the handle and tried to open it...</p><p>...but it wouldn't budge.</p><p>"Shit. Hm..."</p><p>No keyhole, and no latch for a lock. She looked around the door, and almost immediately spotted a pull-string by the wall, nearly invisible off to the left near the corner. Reaching over, leaning really (it was quite out of the way), she gave it a hard tug. From the other side of the door, she heard an audible, metallic <em>shink! </em>noise that made her wince. If she could hear it through the door, then any of the "clankers" on the other side would definitely have heard it.</p><p>"Move!" Kyo whispered, pulling the door open.</p><p>She immediately saw the source of the noise. A line of holes in the floor on the immediate other side of the door: retractable metal bars. The door was meant to be gated off on that side, obviously to keep people from accessing the chapel. This was a good sign, Kyo figured. Logic would suggest that if people were supposed to be kept out of the hallway they were in from <em>this</em> side, then <em>this </em>would be the path to follow if they wanted to find their way out of the castle instead of blundering further into it.</p><p>She didn't know whether or not the bars were set to any sort of timing mechanism, though, so being slow about getting through carried a high risk of biting the two of them in the butt (or anything else that was too slow to cross over the bars before they slid back out). Kyo stepped through, beckoning Shiho to follow. They emerged at the corner of a wide hallway, much like the one they'd emerged from, except that this was the corner intersection of what seemed to be a grid of multiple halls. One hall stretched out to another dead-end passage to their left, but intersected with yet another corridor halfway to it. Kyo could see a door off that way, too, but guessed it had to be another side room. Directly ahead of the door they'd come through, another hall stretched on for some distance before turning left and out of sight, but there was a door there in the corner opposite...</p><p>Kyo's instincts screamed at her to make a mad dash for that door, but she knew in her head that if they made it obvious that they had <em>been </em>through an area, someone would start looking for intruders. So she quietly closed the doors behind her and Shiho, once the other girl was by her side —</p><p>"Fuck!"</p><p>This half-whisper, half-yelp burst out of Kyo when the metal bars sprang out of the floor, barely giving her time to get her hand away. They snapped into place and that was that. They were locked out. Kyo's eyes went to the much larger, more obvious pull-chain on this side of the door, and then to the large, circular indentation set in stone beneath. It was decorated to look like a large ram's head or something...</p><p>"You think we need to put some kind of special thing in the hole there to open it up again?" Shiho asked uncertainly. Kyo let out a quiet laugh.</p><p>"A gold medal, I just bet," she said dryly. "Like an Olympic medal, maybe. The thing that unlocked the way to Kamoshida bein' worshipped as a god in the gym? Or maybe it's an eagle or wolf medal. Unicorn medal? Looks <em>Biohazard</em> as hell, whatever it is..."</p><p>Shiho shook her head, breathing out in a huff. Kyo thought she could almost hear the mental response to another one of her context-free gaming references: Shiho had no idea what medals being used in a castle unlocking mechanism might have to do with a biohazard. If only Kyo met more girls with an appreciation for the fine art of video games, jokes like this wouldn't fall flat so much.</p><p>"I'm still not convinced this isn't some freaky nightmare I'm having," Shiho muttered to herself.</p><p>Kyo barely heard her, and wasn't really sure what she could say to convince her it was real, so she decided it was better to get back to the business of finding a way out. She turned around, looking left and right.</p><p>"There can't be any more 'clankers' near us, or someone'd have heard that racket..." Kyo whispered. "If I only had some idea o' which direction the front door o' the place is in. Hell, I couldn't even tell ya what floor we're on... if it's a castle, I'd guess there's at least three or four."</p><p>
  <em>Clank. Clank. Clank.</em>
</p><p>Shitwhistles. Kyo put a finger to her lips and rushed forward to hide behind the corner wall across from the barred gate. The sound, muffled by distance and a closed door as it was, came from the very direction that Kyo had guessed must be the way out. Shiho slid up against the wall behind her. One look back confirmed that Shiho was watching the empty hall behind them, so Kyo peeked around the corner...</p><p>The door swung open. A guard in armor, and another, and another behind that, filed into the hall...</p><p>"Jesus Christ, they've got swords and shields..." Kyo hissed, jerking her head back behind the wall. "I mean, I guess I <em>expected</em> it, but that's so weird... like that time mom took me t' Medieval Times when we were on a trip t' America when I was little..."</p><p>Right, right, Kyo had forgotten that little excursion. Eri had said something about doing something fun while her husband was busy working. Kyo had been about seven or eight. It had only been for one night, but her mother had indulged her interest in western fantasy and then told Kyo not to mention it to daddy because he wouldn't have approved...</p><p>...</p><p>Now wasn't the time to be thinking about this. God, Kyo hated the way her mind spiraled off at the slightest distraction all the time. It was fine when she was just chilling in Shibuya, but this was serious!</p><p>Kyo gestured at Shiho to follow, and crept around her. There was only some very sparse cover in these hallways... a single, solitary armchair against a wall, here and there. They came to a four-way intersection, and —</p><p>"<em>GOT YOU!</em>" came a roar from their left.</p><p>A heavy metal arm swung out from around the corner. Kyo swore, scrambling back. Shiho screamed: it was one of the armored guards, and he'd just taken a shot at Kyo's head with the pommel of his sword. Kyo found her feet after a stumbling retreat — where had <em>this </em>bastard been hiding? Kyo had underestimated the armored men, had assumed they'd always make noise when they moved... but she'd been so focused on the clankers behind them that she hadn't heard this one approaching.</p><p>All of that shouting had attracted the other guards. Kyo could hear running, clanking footsteps from behind them, and another pair, from the other corridor to the right... there was at least one of them coming at them from every direction they might try to flee.</p><p>So Kyo did the only thing she could. She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender.</p><p>"Whoa, whoa, whoa! We don't mean any hurt, here!" she said desperately. "All we want is a way out!"</p><p>Shiho had pulled in close against her back. Kyo could hear her whispering, "We're trapped, we're trapped... two behind us, one over there... we're trapped...!"</p><p>The guard in front let out an angry growl. "Vile harlot! You <em>dare </em>attempt to depart King Kamoshida's domain with his most devoted slave...!"</p><p>Shiho's frantic whispers stopped cold. Fingernails dug into the back of Kyo's neck beneath the collar of her blazer. The knights were closing in. Kyo reached over her shoulder, where Shiho's hands had found purchase, and took hold of one, squeezing it in what she hoped was a comforting way. The knights were getting closer... closer...</p><p>"That's not what I meant," Kyo said quickly, deciding to improvise, to pile on a heaping helping of grade-A bullshit. "I came to this kingdom... hoping that King Kamoshida would accept me as a slave, too..."</p><p>Shiho flinched. The knights paused. Kyo glanced at the two guards behind them, who were looking at each other in confusion.</p><p>"...K-King Kamoshida sent Suzui-san here to make me feel welcome... we took a walk together, and got lost... I think we ended up in a part of the castle we're not supposed to be in. So I just wanted to find a way <em>out</em>... of this part of the castle. I don't wanna make King Kamoshida so angry with me that he throws me out..."</p><p>The guard in front lowered his sword. Sensing victory was in reach, Kyo whispered under her breath:</p><p>"Shiho! Play along!"</p><p>And she got down on her hands and knees, sinking into a full-tilt, face-to-the-ground, maximum-overdrive bow of apology.</p><p>"I'm deeply sorry! I only wanted to learn how to best please King Kamoshida so that he would accept me! I have nowhere else to go, no one who will take me in...!"</p><p>Kyo couldn't see it, but she could hear it when Shiho sank into a bow next to her.</p><p>"I'm sorry! It's my fault we got lost!" Shiho choked out. "I made a wrong turn when showing Morinaga-san around the chapel...!"</p><p>"Hmph. I understand now," the knight in front said. "You must be the new concubine that King Kamoshida has been expecting. We were instructed to prepare the library for your arrival."</p><p>Kyo kept her head bowed, and hoped Shiho would have the good sense to do the same. Even so, she couldn't stop herself from shaking a little now.</p><p>They'd managed to avoid being cut to ribbons. And she was sure she would have been, because up close and personal, the swords looked <em>very</em> real. Kyo didn't doubt that one wrong move would result in death, or the loss a limb, or at the very least a <em>bad</em> knock to the head. But she'd hit on a cover story that would at least spare their lives, for now.</p><p>It had taken a hell of a lot of self control not to burst out yelling, <em>What? King Kamoshida? The FUCK are you talkin' about, armor-boy?! </em>Kyo figured it was lucky that the imagery in the chapel had prepared both of them for that curve ball. She wasn't half as comfortable with the "concubine" part, though. Was Kamoshida, the Kamoshida back at the school — surely the two couldn't have been one and same? — thinking of making her another of his, his... his... whatever Shiho already was to him?</p><p>"I shall show you to your new quarters, then. Rise, slaves, and follow. King Kamoshida will want to speak with the both of you when he is finished attending the slaves down below."</p><p>It shouldn't have come as a surprise that there was a flesh-and-blood counterpart to the statue in the chapel. But now there was. Kyo wondered if this was something that the gym teacher was aware of. Maybe, maybe that weird app had installed itself on Kamoshida's phone, too, and Kamoshida lived out some freakish kinkshow LARPing fantasy in here...</p><p>It was the implication of that idea that had Kyo shaking like a leaf when she got to her feet. Shiho stood up, again very close. Clankers took up positions to their left, to the right, and behind, a boxed-in escort formation. When the guards began to march down the very hallway from which that club-like sword arm had first attacked, neither girl had any illusions as to what would happen if they tried to break away and flee. Kyo's cover story might have fooled the guards for now, but they wouldn't hesitate to kill either of them if they made any sudden movements.</p><p>
  <em>King Kamoshida's most devoted slave, huh...?</em>
</p><p>Kyo looked to Shiho, who walked next to her, shoulders hunched, hands clutched together against her collarbone, trying to make herself as small and insignificant as possible...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>They had been caught. They were caught. They were trapped. Trapped. It had happened exactly as she had known it was going to happen. This was a nightmare after all. Had to be. Had to be, please. Please let it just a nightmare and let her wake up before she had to beg again. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Wake up — !</p><p>The clankers led them down the hall and into a side room, but whatever Shiho's faculty for observation had been when there had still seemed to be a chance to escape... now it was all a blur. She caught a hazy glimpse of what looked like a treasure chest from one of those fantasy adventure games boys liked to play, <em>Dragon Quest</em> or whatever else they were skipping school for this year. Then, the clanker up front opened a door to their left. Shiho let herself be shepherded inside alongside Kyo.</p><p>"Remain in the library," said the guard that had been doing all of the speaking up to now. "Touch nothing. When King Kamoshida has time, he will grant you an audience and the new slave will take your former quarters, as agreed."</p><p>Shiho shuddered. <em>As agreed. </em>No, that was too much...! Wake up, wake up, wake up...</p><p>The door shut, and Shiho was alone with Kyo again. A click snapped her out of the dreamlike haze. They had locked the door. Shiho figured that even if they could open it, there would be guards waiting just outside to cut them down if they tried for an escape. Blinking to clear the cobwebs from her head, Shiho brought her hands up and rubbed her eyes.</p><p>"Well, this's fancy..." she heard Kyo say.</p><p>Lowering her hands, Shiho looked around. Kyo was right: it <em>was</em> fancy. It seemed to be a large, personal library, with a large globe of the Earth in the middle of the room, and two desks set up to its right. Other than that and the ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it was mostly just open space encased in a square of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It looked like the ceiling was high enough for each of the bookshelves to have eight or nine rows, all stuffed with expensive leather tomes in a variety of sizes and colors... and there were rolling ladders set up against every wall except for the one on the far right.</p><p>It occurred to Shiho that the absence of a ladder on that side was weird; it would be awkward to take a ladder from one of the other walls to get at the books on the upper shelves. And if the owner of this castle could afford so many extra sofas and armchairs... surely he could get one more ladder, too?</p><p><em>What's it matter? Maybe someone broke it and it's being replaced, </em>she told herself. <em>Or maybe it's just a stupid little detail in a really stupid nightmare. Wake up! Or think of some way to get out of here! Don't waste time on stupid questions about stupid ladders in a stupid library!</em></p><p>Kyo had already hopped up to sit on the nearest desk, ignoring the chair. Elbows on her knees and chin on her hands, the green-haired girl stared unhappily at Shiho, then grinned tightly at her.</p><p>"Sorry for this," she said softly. "It's lookin' like we may not get outta here. But, well, maybe we can B.S. our way out anyway. It seems like they mistook you for a... slave... who already lives here."</p><p>Shiho looked down. "I'm thinking that's what I may really be," she whispered. "That this is all a dream. That my brain's trying to show me what I've been ignoring all this time."</p><p>Kyo didn't say anything, so Shiho chanced a glance up. Green eyebrows had disappeared beneath unkempt bangs. Shiho dragged her feet over to that desk, laid her hand on the back of the chair in front of it. She wrenched it away from the desk, heedless of the scraping of its legs against the floor, and turned it around. Once its back was to Kyo, she sat backwards <em>on</em> it, straddling it and resting her forehead on the backboard, facing Kyo but unwilling to look at her. She lapsed into a miserable silence.</p><p>Silence persisted until Kyo spoke up, keeping her voice gentle.</p><p>"I know I said I wouldn't press, but what exactly d'ya mean t' say your brain's tryin' t' tell ya?"</p><p>"That it'll never end," Shiho said. "That I'll never get out, there's no <em>way</em> out. That maybe that my only escape, is..."</p><p>She trailed off into silence again. After three seconds — Shiho thought she could hear a ticking clock somewhere in the distance so she was sure it was at least three — Kyo completed her thought for her.</p><p>"Death?" she asked, in that same gentle voice.</p><p>Shiho lifted her head, looked up into the eyes of the unruly girl on the desk, who was still watching her with her chin in her hands. She watched Kyo for a bit in return, then laughed. Laughter turned to humorless giggles. It had finally struck Shiho that she was being silly. If this was a dream, then the only person in the room with her, really, was herself. Some other thing was being expressed through this weird figment of a punk-looking girl who was meant to represent, what, her fear of dragging other people into Kamoshida's web of lies? So nothing she might say here mattered, in that case.</p><p>And if they really weren't dreaming, then the two of them were going to die anyway, or worse, very soon. So what was the harm? What was the point of keeping it secret now? It might even be relieving, just to... let it out. To tell someone. To hope for that gentle and unjudging voice, just once. To speak and be heard.</p><p>So Shiho took a breath, and began.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Kyo hadn't expected it. Later, she would feel more than a little bit guilty for provoking this: Shiho had only spoken so frankly about her hardships because she half-believed that it wasn't really happening. But in the moment, all Kyo could do was listen, and endure a familiar clenching tension in her chest as she wished, wished, <em>wished</em> she could do something to get the girl in front of her out of her situation, protect her, or... or something.</p><p>
  <em>Anything. Give me a notebook of death and I'd write that man's name down in a heartbeat, and damn anyone who says I'd be wrong to do it...</em>
</p><p>The story was long, winding, and escaped Shiho's bottled-up emotions in the form of an unfocused stream of disconnected episodes. Kyo would remember every word, every inflection, every time Shiho interjected with a random thought, because that was just the way the brain in Kyo's head worked. She would remember it all, in spite of Shiho going on for nearly an hour with only an occasional pause and only a very few interjections by Kyo herself.</p><p>Shiho spoke of joining the volleyball team in middle school, and realizing for the first time in her life — after struggling with schoolwork and always being berated by her teachers for it — that she was good at something, a <em>natural </em>at it, even! She spoke of her mother's joy and encouragement, and how their distant, quiet relationship, the inevitable result when a single working parent had no time to spend with a child, finally grew closer, warmer: Shiho's budding talent became a point of pride for mother and daughter both, closing the gap, giving them hope for the future.</p><p>Then she had started up at Shujin Academy, a prep school with standards she couldn't have hoped to live up to if she hadn't caught Suguru Kamoshida's eye during one of the final games of her middle-school run. He had suggested the school to her, and made certain that her talent for volleyball was known when she put in her application. Shiho had attended her first days as a freshman full of hope and enthusiasm, and Kamoshida had been very welcoming, making sure she knew when tryouts were, assuring her that even if she couldn't cut it academically, the school would know her value soon enough...</p><p>"...Ha," Kyo had cut in darkly, at this. "He pulled the same line on me, more or less. He's soundin' a little like one o' those diabolical pimp hosts in the urban horror stories, the ones who go around recruitin' girls by trickin' 'em into fallin' in love..."</p><p>Shiho had laughed at the image, and agreed that it did sound a little like that. But the humor had been melancholic, and short-lived. Shiho went on describe her early days on the girls' volleyball team, how other members of the team had always seemed to suffer injuries when she wasn't looking. Kamoshida had told her it was just natural when training at their level. Had even told her that the reason she didn't suffer as many injuries was simply her talent. Shiho had wanted to believe it, back then... it had swelled her ego to be treated as if she was special, better than the rest...</p><p>Somewhere in the middle of this, Shiho had befriended a foreign girl named Ann, who wasn't doing so well at school because of all the rumors that had sprung up around her due to her looks... it was a short, happy intermission in the story, in which both Shiho and Kyo could smile and laugh at a few choice anecdotes from the early days of Shiho's friendship with Ann Takamaki. But the good mood didn't last, not for the two girls in the library, not for Shiho in her freshman year.</p><p>It had begun around the middle of that year, just before a big game. Kamoshida had taken Shiho aside and announced, angrily, that he was removing her from the starting lineup. Her technique was suffering, she wasn't giving it her all, he had said. Their last game had been a win only by the skin of their teeth, and they wouldn't have won at all if it weren't for Nishikawa...</p><p>Shiho's voice hitched at this point, as if she wanted to break down in sobs and had only just stopped herself. She'd gone silent for some time, then. Kyo stayed quiet, letting Shiho gather her courage, because she had a feeling she knew where this was going.</p><p>And indeed, Kyo had guessed right. Shiho had asked him to <em>reconsider.</em> Shiho spoke the word with whispery fear, as if it were the name of some demon she feared would appear on the spot and drag her soul to Hell if she said it too loud. And Kamoshida <em>had</em> reconsidered, for a price.</p><p>Shiho became a veritable fountain of uncomfortable detail spraying up and out and in all directions at this point, to an extent that even Kyo had to cringe and look away as she went on. But it was like Shiho wasn't even aware that Kyo was there any longer. She was just talking, her mouth spewing out her darkest memories on automatic pilot. Short of shutting the conversation down prematurely, Kyo got the distinct impression that Shiho couldn't have stopped herself now if she'd wanted to. And Kyo wasn't sure that stopping Shiho was the right thing to do, so she stayed quiet and just let her keep going with it.</p><p>Kyo really did <em>not</em> want to remember the details that Shiho's broken-dam mouth imparted to her now; even as she listened, she cursed her infallible verbal memory in advance for burdening her with this testimony. The abridged version, as Kyo's brain churned it out for later consideration, was simply that Kamoshida pressured Shiho into giving him a blowjob, and into showing him parts of her body that no adult should have been allowed to see. He hadn't touched her much, though. Not that time. Not back then.</p><p>This had been the start of it, Shiho said. And it really did look like he'd only meant to exploit her once, Shiho said. The rest of the year had gone without incident, Shiho said. Well, that wasn't exactly <em>true</em>, Shiho said. After that, Kamoshida would sometimes call her to the office and hit her, Shiho said. And then the final game of her first year had come and gone.</p><p>And she had won</p><p>And she had been happy.</p><p>And she had been hopeful that it would be worth it.</p><p>Hopeful that her one indiscretion would fade into the background of memory.</p><p>She had even started to think of it as harmless sexual experimentation, Shiho said. What harm had really come of it, she had asked herself? Nothing... she had stayed on the team and had won and had surely shown Kamoshida her value. He wouldn't demand anything else of her, she had known it for certain.</p><p>But his evaluation had been highly critical. Again, he talked up Nishikawa's contribution, and grumbled about how low the team's chances had fallen now that Nishikawa was graduating. He'd talked of scouting new talent, finding a replacement for Shiho, someone better, someone in Nishikawa's league.</p><p>Shiho had, in her moment of panic, gotten on her knees and begged him to reconsider, clawing at his pant legs like a child. It was only afterward that Shiho realized he'd been baiting her, and had hooked her, dragged her right into his trap, the same as before. Shiho sounded too exhausted to go into detail, this time. But it was almost creepier, this time, the disinterested monotone with which she clinically admitted that <em>this time</em> it had progressed to Kamoshida playing with her breasts and making her use them on him like a sex toy...</p><p>Finally, and not a moment too soon by Kyo's reckoning, the story wound down toward its end. Shiho mumbled that she was sure that second time would be the last time. Then she whispered, almost too quietly for Kyo to catch it, that it certainly wouldn't be, that Kamoshida would just push and push and push and every time he did, he would demand more from her. And she was stuck with it, because all she had was volleyball. Her only possible career path was volleyball. And if she tried to leave Kamoshida or Shujin Academy, she knew he would blacken her name in the sports community, spread rumors, make it so that no school would see her as a prospect, no college... no professional team, ever...</p><p>Shiho lapsed at last into silence again. Kyo felt her jaws grinding together so hard that she was sure she'd pop her front teeth loose if she kept it up. She willed them to loosen, closed her eyes, and moved her left hand away from her chin, rubbing at her face, pinching the bridge of her nose to ward off what felt like the onset of a physical headache. Shiho, still straddling the chair, was gazing ruefully off in another direction now. Kyo couldn't tell whether she was just exhausted from letting everything out, or unable to look Kyo in the eye now that she had revealed everything.</p><p>Opening her eyes, Kyo stared at her hand, flexing her fingers in front of her face. Her mind was a whirl of discomfort, unease, and malcontent. This was the kind of man who'd been running the Volleyball Team at Shujin for the last handful of years, eh? To think, now that she'd heard Shiho's story, that the original spark for her plans, the first reason she'd been given to hate this man, had been so... so <em>tame</em> by comparison.</p><p>
  <em>Ha. Ha ha. It's almost funny, y'know...? How out of my depth I was, all this time. But now that I know this much...</em>
</p><p>She clenched her fist, swung it up and to the side, slammed it down on the desk next to her. The bang was a deafening intrusion on the quiet isolation of that castle library, it shook the desk, and probably sent vibrations through the floor and up the chair's legs, into the backboard upon which Shiho slumped. Whether in response to the noise or the physical disturbance, Shiho jumped. Wide, scared eyes whipped around to stare, the girl attached to them sitting up straight, very nearly drawing away from Kyo.</p><p>Kyo's laughter spilled out, breaking her brain-to-mouth filter clean in two.</p><p>"Ha. Haha... oh, jeez. Kyeheheh..."</p><p>Shiho looked hurt, and opened her mouth to say something, maybe to defend herself or whatever it might have been. But Kyo spoke first, holding up her left hand in a placating gesture and shaking her head.</p><p>"Nah, nah... I ain't laughin' at you," she said. "I'm laughin' at myself. It's just, I'd already figured out that Kamoshida was a bit of a scumbag. I just didn't know the half of it 'til now. Did he do that kinda thing with that Nishikawa, d'ya think? Or any o' the other girls on the team?"</p><p>Shiho held still, then shook her head a little bit, as if to say no... but then she heaved out a dry sob and let her head drop onto the backboard of the chair again, producing an audible thump.</p><p>"Who knows?" she said. "None of them talk to each other about it if he does, and I've never told any of them what he made me do. We tell each other the same lies we tell our parents, but..."</p><p>A pause. Then, Shiho's real answer:</p><p>"...Yes. I think..." she said. She didn't lift up her head, but continued — voice thick with abrupt, hopeless certainty. "...I'm almost <em>sure</em> that he does it with at least some of them. I didn't want to admit it, but... I've seen the same anxiety on some of their faces that I've seen on mine... just, sometimes, you know? When they think no one's looking. I have no proof, but... I'm sure I'm not the only one he's hurt this way."</p><p>Kyo shook her head, pinched the bridge of her nose again. She felt her lips tug upward in a vicious, toothy snarl. Her next thought blasted through that malfunctioning filter in a low, throaty growl, almost a whisper but with too much force and hate to the words not to carry at least as far as Shiho's chair — a fact that Kyo would not realize until much, much later.</p><p>"...I am <em>so</em> gonna burn this fucker t' the ground..."</p><p>It would be quite some time after that until King Kamoshida made his appearance, so the two girls had a long while to sit together, considering each other and where they stood now. At one point, as Kyo sat with the heels of her hands pressed against her eyeballs, she thought she heard a whisper that sounded like "<em>Thank you</em>" from Shiho. But Kyo's first thought was that she must have imagined it, because she couldn't figure what she'd done that she could deserve gratitude for. She hadn't done anything except make Shiho relive the worst memories of her life... not yet.</p><p>But maybe, when they got out of here. Maybe.</p><p>Just maybe.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. 1-6: A Song of Ice and Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At some point you either decide that you can't take any more... or you decide that you won't take any more.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Six -<br/>"A Song of Ice and Fire"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>S</strong>hiho felt, in that space of time, a weird and comfortable sense of emptiness. It had been hard at first, trying to force herself to talk about these things to another human being. And yes, she realized: that was what she had been doing. Maybe allowing herself to believe that she was dreaming, that her audience wasn't real, had just been a way to make it easier for herself. But she knew it now, that she was really here, wide awake, and that she had just told the transfer student from Osaka everything she'd been hiding from her mother and from Ann and from the other girls on the Volleyball Team. That she had opened her heart and spilled her guts to someone who was, more or less, a complete stranger.</p><p>And now that it was over, she felt... relaxed. She felt relieved and refreshed. Unburdened. A temporary thing, to be sure. But temporary or not, she felt as near to the spirit of "at peace" as she had ever felt for the better part of a year. There was only one thing that disturbed the quiet of her mind while they awaited King Kamoshida's judgment together in that silent, musty room full of old books.</p><p>Kyo's words. <em>I am so gonna burn this fucker t' the ground.</em></p><p>Shiho hoped Kyo had just been muttering impotently to herself, that the words didn't mean anything. Because if Kyo went after Kamoshida because of what she'd learned today, she would get hurt, or arrested, or he would trample all over her future prospects, or any or all of the above. Kamoshida already held Kyo in contempt, he'd made that clear to Shiho. So if he was given an excuse to make Kyo's life harder...</p><p>"Hey, Shiho."</p><p>Kyo had spoken up at last. Shiho wasn't sure how much time had passed since they had last said anything, maybe more than half an hour, but they hadn't moved from where they'd already been sitting and Shiho herself was again resting her head on the backboard of the chair. She lifted it, looking up at Kyo, who now leaned back and stared up at the ceiling in sour contemplation.</p><p>"Yeah?" Shiho asked. Why she bothered keeping her voice down now, Shiho wasn't sure, but it was hard to bring herself to speak loudly when there were probably guards right outside the door.</p><p>"Suppose this's some weird dream after all," Kyo said, speaking slowly, tentatively. "Whose dream would it be? Yours, or Kamoshida's?"</p><p>Shiho opened her mouth to respond decisively, but hesitated, bit her lower lip.</p><p>The answer that had occurred to her (<em>Mine, and it's not a dream — it's a nightmare!</em>) didn't feel right. For one thing, Shiho wasn't into the whole fantasy-adventure, medieval-castle kind of thing. She'd seen far more in the way of Japanese historical pieces when it came to movies, and she just didn't see the appeal of those video games. She had <em>tried </em>a few, they just hadn't grabbed her. She couldn't see herself imagining such a detailed, luxurious castle even <em>if </em>her brain had decided to portray Kamoshida as the egocentric king ruling over one.</p><p>"...It would be Kamoshida's dream, I think," Shiho said. "Maybe..."</p><p>"That's what I was thinkin', too..." Kyo murmured. "So considerin' this ain't a dream, what 'xactly is it? Not the inside of his head, but... somethin'... that came <em>from</em> his head?"</p><p>"What, like a world of his weird kinky fantasies made real?" Shiho blurted out. She crinkled her nose as if the very words stank like excrement. "Just the idea sounds crazy."</p><p>"Yeah, but so's the castle bein' here in the first place," Kyo said. "Besides, the app obviously ain't just about Kamoshida. It's got all kindsa keywords for crimes and bad personality types... weird buildings like museums and banks, and a ship, and... I was just thinkin' maybe there's a ton o' weird dream-places like this out there, and the nav's made t' transport people in and out."</p><p>"Why would it show up on <em>your</em> phone the day after you met Kamoshida if it's not about him?" Shiho asked. "It sounds like you're trying to make this bigger than it is. And to be honest, I don't want it to be bigger."</p><p>"...Why, indeed. That's another question. It's almost like somethin' was watchin' me, and decided t' put it on my phone just in time for me t' stumble inta this," Kyo mused, smirking humorlessly up the ceiling. "If that's the case, then I wonder what our hypothetical observer's thinkin', or who else they might've decided t' mess with this way. I know it can't've been anyone in the vicinity o' the school that did it, 'cause the app definitely wasn't on my phone when I got back t' the apartment that night. I didn't see it 'til the next day."</p><p>"I really don't see what the point is in guessing and speculating about it," Shiho said. "There's no way to know, is there?"</p><p>"Maybe... but it feels like it'd be irresponsible not t' question it," Kyo retorted blandly. "Dangerous, even."</p><p>"I guess..."</p><p>"So runnin' with the theory that this is some castle o' Kamoshida's dreams or some such—"</p><p>At that moment, the door to the library opened. Kyo grimaced, but continued to stare at the ceiling. Shiho straightened up, and quickly stood, turning around, cringing into herself again. A guard stepped into the room and then to the side, holding the door open. A second guard followed, holding the other door open for a third newcomer. This man wore no armor. His cape was the same red, heart-patterned royal garb that the two girls had seen on the stained glass window in the chapel, and as in the chapel, there was a crown on his head. There was no mistaking the hair, either, or the chin, or the face that grinned sardonically at the girls as he stepped into the room.</p><p>But the eerie, glowing yellow eyes were definitely a new look. Shiho hadn't really believed that part of Kyo's story until now, but here they were, and they were just as unsettling as Kyo had described.</p><p><strong>"'<em>Castle o' my dreams or some such</em>,'"</strong> mimicked King Kamoshida, in a mocking imitation of Kansai-ben that provoked a small scowl from Kyo. <strong>"I'm impressed, Morinaga. I guess you're smarter than you look. </strong><strong>That's <em>exactly</em> what this place is. To be more specific, it's the world of my desires..."</strong></p><p>Shiho felt herself backing away against all her conscious effort to remain where she was, until her pelvis bumped the desk and she had to stop. She looked back at Kyo, who was still staring at the ceiling. After a moment Kyo took a breath and turned her attention at last to Kamoshida.</p><p>"Yellow eyes again," Kyo observed in a near-monotone. "Like that copy o' me I saw at Shibuya Station. Are you the Kamoshida I met at school? Or are you some <em>other</em> Kamoshida?"</p><p>King Kamoshida threw back his head and laughed, a sound that chilled Shiho to the bone. She realized at that moment that this yellow-eyed creature had a voice that only sounded like Kamoshida's if the gym teacher were speaking through the school P.A. system — if the P.A. system's acoustics had been smothered by filtering effects for a haunted house event at the school festival, maybe. It was distorted, human yet inhuman. It wouldn't have sounded out of place in a movie or an anime, except that it was coming out of a flesh-and-blood mouth with no voice-changing device in sight... so instead of being cool or silly, it was chilling to listen to, chilling to hear it and be able to see Kamoshida's lips moving in time with his words.</p><p><strong>"You've spoken to your other self?"</strong> asked King Kamoshida. <strong>"I bet she had <em>so </em>much to say to a whore like you... but it's too late to listen to her now. This is <em>my</em> castle, and you're never leaving it again. I suggest you make yourself comfortable..."</strong> His yellow eyes flashed with malice. <strong>"Do as I tell you without complaint, and <em>maybe</em> I'll let you have a cot and a chamber pot in there."</strong></p><p>Kyo's jaw tightened. Shiho, looking back and forth between Kyo and King Kamoshida, finally found her own voice. She turned to Kamoshida, and clutched her hands together against her collarbone.</p><p>"Wait! Please... your... Your Majesty?" Shiho interrupted meekly.</p><p>Yellow eyes flashed to her, and she shrunk into herself still farther. Shiho swallowed a dry lump, and barely managed to get the next words out without stammering.</p><p>"What... do you... plan to do with us?" she asked.</p><p>King Kamoshida's lascivious smirk shifted, melting into an oily smile.</p><p><strong>"Well, I can hardly afford to keep <em>you </em>here,"</strong> he said slyly. <strong>"Being my star player and all. I do still need to achieve results out there in the real world, if I wish to maintain my rule over this castle. But you've done well, Suzui, in bringing her here... it wasn't what I ordered you to do, but this is even better. I'm going to enjoy breaking Morinaga's spirit, one delicious indignity at a time..."</strong></p><p>King Kamoshida swept an arm out from under his robes; Shiho flinched back, unable to contain an abrupt half-shriek of disgust. She heard a quiet, "Ech!" from Kyo beside her. Beneath the robe, Kamoshida was wearing nothing at all except his shoes and a pink swimming briefs. All of his muscles, and his prominent body hair, were on proud display — Shiho didn't know whether or not it would have been an arousing sight if it hadn't been <em>him</em> leaving so little to her imagination, but the combination of near-nudity and that horrible costume and the color of that... lower covering... would certainly have cancelled all of that out no matter who it had been. The entire ensemble screamed ill intentions, ill intentions of the kind that set every last one of Shiho's self-preservation instincts blaring an instantaneous code-red evacuation alert.</p><p>Shiho was so transfixed by this repulsive spectacle that it took her a few moments to realize that King Kamoshida had withdrawn a book from beneath the cape: a large, leather tome. A moment later, the two guards flanking the closed door advanced, gauntleted hands emerging from behind their shields. Both held books of their own, nearly identical to the one in Kamoshida's hand, though his was the chronicle with the most girth to it.</p><p>"So what're ya intendin', then?" Kyo asked.</p><p>For a moment Shiho thought she was unfazed by King Kamoshida's state of dress. She looked and saw that Kyo was looking up and away from him, but had also taken on a peculiar look around her eyes that could only be described as deadpan disbelief.</p><p>Kyo went on: "Are ya thinkin' you'll let Shiho here outta the castle and just keep me here?"</p><p>King Kamoshida walked to the shelves along the left-hand wall, chuckling as he went — the two guards marched mechanically to the bookshelves in the front and back. Shiho's eyes followed King Kamoshida until he stopped next to a shelf that had an inexplicable open space in it, one that jumped out to her immediately because neither of the books to the left or right of it had tilted into the gap. She looked to the guards, and saw that both of them had stopped next to similar gaps, all three of which were conveniently in rows of books that sat at about eye-level.</p><p>King Kamoshida turned around and sneered at Kyo.</p><p><strong>"That was my deal with Suzui,"</strong> he said greasily. <strong>"She was to convince you to join the team and in exchange, she needn't perform any services for her king. Ha! It works out, really... that blonde chick, what was her name again? She's been trying to charm me into laying off her friend. I figure this way, we all get what we want... well, all of us except you..."</strong></p><p>Shiho's blood turned to ice, along with her lungs: they wouldn't move, wouldn't draw in air. Blond chick? Friend? <em>Ann</em>—<em>?!</em></p><p>"Jeez, Your Majesty, you've got quite the li'l system goin' there," Kyo responded blandly, still sitting on the desk, still sounding calm as can be. "So, basically, Takamaki's puttin' the moves on you t' distract you from Shiho... you want Ann more'n you want Shiho, but you plan on usin' me t' fill the time so you can keep bein' a skeevy bastard without spoilin' your shot at the good stuff? Is that it? Dia-frickin'-bolical, truly. A-plus master plan, there. Good job."</p><p>Shiho's head whipped around, wide eyes staring at Kyo. King Kamoshida laughed again, but then all humor vanished from his face. He turned to the bookshelf.</p><p><strong>"That devil-may-care attitude,"</strong> he growled, <strong>"irritates me. But I'll take my time paying you back for it later."</strong></p><p>He lifted the tome and slid it into place between the others. The guards did the same with the books they carried. Shiho could see the title of the one Kamoshida had placed — <em>The King Book</em> — but then she heard a grinding of gears and wood from the opposite side of the library. Kyo huffed, "Man, that's unoriginal," as both girls turned to look toward the bookshelves on the one wall with no ladder standing against it. Shiho saw the middle set of shelves sliding back, back and then to the left, revealing a room that...</p><p>...that...</p><p>This time what Shiho heard Kyo mutter was, "...You kiddin' me? That's just wrong, man."</p><p>The green-haired girl's voice shook this time, and Shiho couldn't blame her. King Kamoshida had stomped over to the desk Kyo was on, leaning in to sneer at her. Shiho jerked away from the pair involuntarily; Kamoshida had reached up to clutch Kyo's jaw in one large hand, putting his other atop her head and gripping her hair tightly to hold her face in that direction.</p><p><strong>"Take a good look,"</strong> said King Kamoshida. <strong>"That was Suzui's room, until now. Now it's going to be yours. You'll never leave it again — you'll eat in that room, sleep in that room... it'll even be your bathroom. So mind that impertinent attitude, wench! Whether or not your king grants you the necessary amenities may just depend on what kind of mood he's in after your first session on the rack."</strong></p><p>"That's — <em>agh!</em>"</p><p>Kamoshida had heaved Kyo off the desk by her whole head, swinging her bodily over the ground and throwing her forward. She sprawled sideways over the checker-patterned marble floor. Shiho had to cover her mouth with her hands again to stop from screaming at the brutal display of superior strength; she half-expected him to descend on her, fists flailing, but mercifully, or sadistically, he just stood over her gloatingly.</p><p>King Kamoshida was ignoring Shiho, and the two guards moved to flank Kyo on the ground...</p><p><strong>"Although,"</strong> King Kamoshida said, <strong>"I guess it's cruel of me to give you false hope. There'll be no mercy for you here. Not after what you've done... what you <em>did</em> to your fellow students back in Kansai. That's the icing on the cake for me, really. It's even better when they deserve what they get."</strong></p><p>Kyo pushed up onto her elbows and looked wildly back at Kamoshida, wide eyes pained and watering, incredulous...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"What I did back in—?!"</p><p>But one of the guards lifted a heavy metal boot and swung it up; Kyo's head snapped sideways with the impact, and she was sent sprawling all the way onto her <em>other</em> side. Throbbing pain and dizzy incoherence enshrouded her whole world for a few moments in which she couldn't even begin to decipher the meaning of Kamoshida's dark pronouncement.</p><p>The King's voice floated in through that daze.</p><p><strong>"Ha! But maybe this isn't really a punishment for you after all,"</strong> he said, getting closer with every word. A stomping vibration near Kyo's head clued her into the movements of the guards: one was stepping back and away, Kamoshida taking its place. The next moment, she was being lifted to her feet by her hair again, hissing in pain and protest.</p><p>"Please! Don't hurt her!" Shiho begged, from way on the other side of the room. Kyo couldn't turn her head to look.</p><p>King Kamoshida laughed raucously. <strong>"Don't push your luck!"</strong> he snarled without heat. <strong>"Besides, a vindictive nymphomaniac like Morinaga isn't worth your concern. You should just cut your losses and leave her to her fate."</strong></p><p>Kyo understood, then, and all the fight leaked out of her in an instant. He knew. He'd found out, somehow, what kind of person she'd been before. But he couldn't have. There was no way. It was in the past, in Osaka —</p><p>"You don't know her!" came Shiho's protest, angry enough now that the fear was being overpowered by indignation. "You know nothing about her! Just because of the way she looks—!"</p><p>Kyo felt the yellow-eyed man throw her roughly to the floor, face-down this time. She reflexively tried to get up, but felt a heavy foot against the back of her head and froze: King Kamoshida would stomp down on her skull if she struggled. She began to shake again, gasping and panting, losing the tenuous hold she'd been maintaining on her composure ever since King Kamoshida had entered the library. There was a shuffling movement behind her, and then the sound of the clankers placing themselves between Shiho and the king, but King Kamoshida only laughed.</p><p><strong>"What a surprise,"</strong> said King Kamoshida. Sarcastic amusement laced his every utterance. <strong>"So you followed her in without knowing anything at all? I'll let you in on a secret no one at Shujin knows, then... this scruffy little corporate darling here? She used to make a <em>sport</em> out of seducing the boys at her previous school. She didn't tell you? I'm not surprised. Might as well introduce herself by admitting to kicking puppies for fun."</strong></p><p>Kyo couldn't see, her face was pressed to the floor and all there was in her field of vision were blurry bookshelves and King Kamoshida's other foot in front of her face. But Shiho hadn't been able to disguise her surprised gasp at Kamoshida's words. Kyo grimaced and closed her eyes. Now her earlier admittance that she'd had sex as a stress reliever was going to stand as evidence of the man's claims. And... and Kyo couldn't exactly deny it, it was the truth... but...</p><p>"How in the <em>hell</em>," Kyo growled, "do you know <em>anythin'</em> about what I did in Osaka?"</p><p>Her lips were barely turned enough away from the floor that she could speak clearly, but she'd managed it. King Kamoshida pressed his foot down just a little more, though, because Kyo had set her palms flat against the floor as if to push herself up.</p><p><strong>"Oh, I just happen to be acquainted with your old P.E. teacher," </strong>King Kamoshida said, in a false, saintly voice. <strong>"And she convinced your old guidance counselor to give up the goods. Tsk, tsk, but you <em>were</em> a bad little girl. I hear that by your second year you were even getting seniors to cheat on their girlfriends with you, then rubbing their girlfriends' noses in it afterward for a laugh. This one girl, what was her name... Yuko or Yumi? ...went crying to the counselor after you transferred to Tokyo, and told her the whole sad story... I bet you get a kick out of knowing that there's someone out there who's still traumatized by what you did, you sick cunt. Do you think about that when you touch yourself at night?"</strong></p><p>Kyo's fingers bent into claws against the floor. Shiho wasn't saying anything, but Kyo felt a compulsive need to, to defend herself, to explain...!</p><p>She wanted to <em>deny</em> it, and she almost did. But Shiho had told <em>her</em> everything, everything she had kept secret from everyone else who cared about her. Kyo's denial died in her throat, coming out as an angry snarl, and then she burst out desperately:</p><p>"I was stupid! Angry! And when they didn't care either, I got angrier! I know I was a horrible person, but I'm not like that now! Please, just believe—!"</p><p><strong>"Enough of your sniveling,"</strong> King Kamoshida said through his teeth, pressing his foot down still more. <strong>"You see, Suzui? She doesn't even deny it... may as well have just plead guilty and begged for punishment. You can let my guards escort you to the gates with a clear conscience. This is justice, don't you see? Is it not a king's duty to pass sentence on the wicked? And if I get to have a little fun while doing it, well... heh. Why should anyone else complain about that?"</strong></p><p>Kyo wanted to look Shiho in the eye, beg Shiho to listen, to believe that she had changed. But she couldn't turn her head, couldn't see Shiho's face. Shiho must have been disgusted with her—! But, wait. Hold the phone. King Kamoshida had just said the guards would escort Shiho out. The guards and Kamoshida had both dropped hints and made statements to the effect that... that Kyo was to take Shiho's place in the castle...</p><p>Kamoshida took his foot off her head but before she could react, she was wrenched up by the hair again. Stumbling to get her feet underneath her before her own weight could pull hair out of her scalp, she cried out in pain, closing her eyes.</p><p>Then —</p><p>"Didn't you hear me, <em>Your Majesty</em>? Did you get gel stuck in your ears trying to fix that stupid haircut? I said <em>don't hurt her</em>. I'm sure there's a dictionary in here, if the words are too big for your gerbil-sized brain!"</p><p>Movement abruptly pulled up short. Kamoshida spun around so quickly and angrily that Kyo was still seeing the afterimage of the torture chamber with its restraint rack, candles on the floor, and way-too-many photos of Shiho Suzui decorating the walls when he accidentally yanked her around so that she was now looking at the genuine article, at Shiho herself, and...</p><p>...and Shiho looked every bit as angry and disgusted as Kyo had imagined and more, but it wasn't directed at <em>her</em>. It was aimed at King Kamoshida. No. No, no, no... that was a bad idea. Bad idea. No. No! <em>What are you doing?! Just get out, let them escort you out! Leave me and get out</em>—<em>!</em></p><p>And Kyo had opened her mouth to tell Shiho to do exactly that, when it happened... when everything changed, for both of them. That was when hope awakened, pure and accepting, with no judgment to dispense save for the demon who had trapped the two of them in this vile pit.</p><p>But Kyo had no way of knowing that was what was coming. All she knew was that Shiho Suzui's previously gentle, golden-brown eyes had changed. They glared at King Kamoshida, blazed at him with the same inhuman yellow glow that Kyo had seen in both her captor here and in her own doppelganger the week before. Shiho was clutching her right temple, her fingers clawing and clutching at her hair. A thin trail of drool had escaped the corner of her panting mouth. She looked crazed, deranged.</p><p>Kyo could only watch in mute horror, sure that she was about to see Shiho run through by the guards, murdered in cold blood before her very eyes.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho knew, somehow, before Kyo even spoke up in her own defense. She knew that in spite of the source of this information being <em>him</em>, that it was the truth. It was just a gut feeling, really, or maybe the collective effect of those small hints at her past that Kyo had given... the admission that she was sexually active and had been long enough to be more than comfortable with it; the self-recriminating mention of her own "stupid years." Kamoshida's earlier derision of Kyo made sense if he really had found out something that disgusting about her, as well...</p><p>...But to suggest that if Shiho believed these things, that she would be willing to abandon Kyo here now? Abandon her to that room which the yellow-eyed King Kamoshida had revealed to be hidden behind the library bookcase, dark and confined and with a large restraining device as its central feature, the purpose of which could not have been more obvious had a large banner been drawn in crayon and hung over the entrance, announcing his intentions to the world?</p><p>Really? Was that what Kamoshida thought of her? Did he really take her for such a <strong>pathetic, spineless coward?!</strong></p><p>Pain lanced across Shiho's head. She reached up to clutch at her right temple, fingers lacing through her hair, disheveling it.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Would you judge her, as he does?<br/>She who looked on you with such unconditional acceptance?</em> </strong>
</p><p>To blithely reveal that Shiho's best friend, her smiling refuge against all the fear and doubt, was putting herself in his power so that he would go easier on Shiho! As if the man thought Shiho would just <em>go along</em> with that out of fear for what might happen if she didn't! Did he truly believe there was anything he could do in retaliation that repulsed her more than the idea of her best friend suffering the same things she had?</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Would you truly be so callous in service of your own satisfaction and advancement?<br/></em> </strong>
</p><p>A voice, echoing through her mind. The world seemed to become indistinct all at once, dreamlike. In that moment, Shiho knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had not been dreaming up until now: the sudden feeling of jarring unreality hammered home the sharpness and clarity with which she had perceived the castle the entire time.</p><p>"Like <em>hell...</em>" Shiho breathed in answer. And the voice in her mind responded, darkly amused at the very notion it had posited.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Of course not. If you believed for a moment that someone would suffer in your place,<br/>you would protect them, whether your fear of what was to come caused you to hesitate or not.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Would you truly have complied with his wishes today?</strong> </em>
</p><p>"No..." she whispered in answer. "I wanted to tell her..."</p><p>
  <em> <strong>And so you would have done, do not doubt. I know you better than you know yourself.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>But you have given him an inch, and then a yard; soon a city block...<br/>Now he believes that he can take a mile from you, whensoever it strikes his fancy.<br/>That is the kind of woman HE believes you to be, believes himself to have turned you into.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>You were nothing to him from the very start.<br/>With each concession you make, with each surrender to his will,<br/>you become even less than that in his eyes.<br/>Less a woman, more a doll to pull apart and throw away.<br/>Less yourself, more a thing.<br/>Less and less and more and more.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>The other you that dwells within screams for release from his cruel regard.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>Will you not find your feet, fair maiden,</em> </strong>
  <br/>
  <strong> <em>and make a stand for your tarnished virtue?</em> </strong>
</p><p>Ann. Kyo. Both of them. Kamoshida thought he could use Shiho to draw others into his depravity. He saw her as so defiled that she wouldn't object, so cowed by his strength and his position that she would be his willing accomplice, no matter what he asked of her or how he wished to use her.</p><p>Clarity of vision returned. Kamoshida had Kyo by the hair, was taking a step toward the torture room. Shiho's eyes snapped up to the wall she could see beyond him, peppered with black-and-white photographs. Photographs she couldn't see, yet she was certain that were pictures of her, pictures of herself in her school uniform, viewed from this or that different angle, her face neutral, expressionless, oblivious to the way he saw her. Oblivious like a doll.</p><p>His accomplice when he wanted something he couldn't have. His punching bag when he didn't get his way. His gods-damned <em>onahole</em>—!</p><p>Anger and humiliation went from a simmer to a boil, swelling in her chest, spilling over the edge, hissing as it splashed to the counter-top. Shiho snarled at him like an animal, so lost in the blind red rush of releasing that long pent-up tension that she barely heard her own words:</p><p>"Didn't you hear me, <em>Your Majesty</em>? Did you get gel stuck in your ears trying to fix that stupid haircut? I said <em>don't hurt her</em>. I'm sure there's a dictionary in here, if the words are too big for your gerbil-sized brain!"</p><p>King Kamoshida froze mid-step, then whipped around, yellow eyes full of hate and disbelief, shock and surprise, all at once. It felt so, so <em>good</em> to have kicked Kamoshida's stupid smug attitude into the mud that Shiho almost forgot to be concerned about the girl he'd yanked around to look at her with him.</p><p>Pain split her skull again; her legs wobbled. She almost fell to her knees, but stumbled forward and managed to keep her feet. Shiho realized that she'd been panting, heaving, drooling, but didn't care. She wanted to spring across the room like a puma and rip his damn throat out with her bare hands. But the voice in her head had other ideas.</p><p><em> <strong>Though he would see you reduced to naught, virtue remains with you still.<br/></strong> </em> <em> <strong>If you would live by what you know to be true, then vow to me:<br/>cling to that eternal truth, and never cast your eyes away again.</strong> </em></p><p>Shiho didn't even have to think about it. A weight had settled over her face, darkness shrouding her peripheral vision. Her hand clutched for her temple again, only to be obstructed by a solid object, a covering, a mask. Her fingers found purchase at the edge of it; it felt like it was made of some thin, rigid material, glass or ceramic —</p><p><strong> <em>I am thou, thou art I...<br/></em> </strong> <em> <strong>Speak my name, and your sword shall be purity of purpose.</strong> </em></p><p><em> <strong>Hold it proudly aloft: let it shine without fear in the light of the noontime sun,<br/></strong> </em> <strong> <em>though all the world may claim its gleam be dulled!</em> </strong></p><p>"I will! Tess...!"</p><p>The name came unbidden to her lips, as if she had always known it. Shiho pulled the mask up, away, and with it went her face. Her world was consumed in a blinding, searing wave of agony that could only be answered with a throat-tearing shriek.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>She stumbled, lowering her head in spite of the fingers that still gripped her by the hair. When she lifted it again, Kyo had to take a hand to her eyes and rub them both vigorously to be sure she was seeing right. Because, suddenly and out of <em>nowhere</em>, light had flashed across Shiho's face and left in its wake a pure white, rose-etched <em>ballroom mask</em>.</p><p>A ballroom mask. As if Shiho, standing there in her red-and-black plaid schoolgirl's skirt, were here to attend a masquerade party in the king's court!</p><p>Her mouth moved, whispering or muttering something as her hand gripped the mask, and then she pulled it away, screaming: Kyo felt her stomach churn; a spray of blood burst forth beneath the mask. Had Shiho torn her skin away, too—?!</p><p>Before Kyo could even cry out, though, or be sure that she'd seen what she thought she had, Shiho <em>exploded</em>.</p><p>Or at least, she might as well have done. A blazing blast of blinding, blue flame ignited around her, producing a wave of force that hit Kyo like a freakin' bus; hit Kamoshida and his guards just as hard, too, it seemed like! Kyo was thrown from her feet and hit the ground painfully, the impact blasting the air from her lungs. King Kamoshida had, mercifully, lost his grip on her hair before being flung into the room with the torture rack. All of the candles in that room had been blown out by the rush of wind bursting out from the eye of the storm in which Shiho stood.</p><p>Kyo scrambled to her feet, staggering around to look every which way — left, right, left — at last her eyes fell on the bookshelf with the locking mechanism on the front wall, one of the ones a guard had operated. It caught her eye because the titles next to the locking book, <em>The Slave Book</em>, all bore unfamiliar male names... except for one: <em>Ryuji Sakamato: The Vulgar Ape.</em> She stared at it, for two full seconds, until suddenly her dazed mind flashed clear, lit up with comprehension. And then her lip curled up in a vindictive snarl.</p><p>
  <em>Insult MY man, will ya?! Well... fuck you, too!</em>
</p><p>Kyo took a step, stumbled to one knee. Set her feet underneath her again, and sprang up in a full-force sprint at the wall. The two armored guards were still trying to get to their own feet, burdened as they were by heavy armor. Kyo hit the shelf running, catching herself with her hands against it before she could smack her face or torso against unyielding wood. No sooner had she steadied herself than she grabbed for the Slave Book.</p><p>At first, there was no give. Then with a loud <em>click</em>, it came free. The grinding of wood and machinery sounded behind her, letting her know that she'd accomplished her task. She cackled in devilish glee, turning to observe her handiwork.</p><p>"What — YOU <em>DARE!</em>" roared the nearest guard, awkwardly swinging his sword at her from down on one knee. Kyo scrambled back, nearly dropping the book before she could get her second hand to close on it.</p><p>As the guard's sword swung back for another strike, armored legs tensed to spring forward and make good on it... a spear of ice sprang up from the floor, impaling the guard through that stupid blue-mask face-plate he wore.</p><p>Kyo blinked, staring at the icicle. The armored man knelt in place, motionless for a moment, then the sword dropped from his hand, clattering to the checkered marble. The armor began to melt into sludge, pitch-black sludge... then, his entire body <em>splashed </em>to the ground. The icicle disintegrated into dust, leaving the spot where it had sprung up from completely spotless, unlike the splotch that remained where the guard had been. The bookshelf was half-closed, now. Kyo backpedaled in fear, as much of the sudden lethal appearance of deadly ice as of the one guard that remained alive. She hugged the Slave Book to the front of her blazer, eyes darting between that guard in the far corner and the bookshelf as it slid closed on King Kamoshida, who still hadn't regained his own balance in the room beyond.</p><p>The guard let out a cry of alarm: it turned and rushed to the bookshelf, but too late. As the shelf closed to a crack and then nothing, and the light from the library proper dimmed enough that King Kamoshida realized what was happening to him, a scream of fury erupted from the now-inaccessible torture room. The yellow-eyed despot was sealed within, and began banging and banging on the back of the bookshelf. Books shook with every impact, shivering closer to the edge in minuscule increments.</p><p>The guard turned, brandishing steel at her warily; Kyo gave him a shark-like grin, holding the Slave Book above her head in victory.</p><p>"I'm thinkin' he might be wantin' that chamber pot pretty soon!" she crowed. A mirthful laugh answered from behind.</p><p>Kyo looked back quickly, panicking. In the heat of the moment, she'd forgotten about Shiho — was she hurt? But what Kyo saw shocked her into almost dropping the book again. She had her answer for why the guard was looking so cautious, now.</p><p>Shiho was fine, absolutely fine, standing straight and staring in wonder at her own hand. But Shiho wasn't the only person on that side of the library anymore. A luminous, ghostly figure hovered just behind her. Kyo's eyes latched onto this figure first, but then snapped back to Shiho. Shiho's clothes, they...!? What the Jesusing <em>Christ</em> was she wearing?!</p><p>The costume was elegant, beautiful, authentic-looking... while simultaneously resembling something from an anime, maybe a <em>Fate/Stay Night</em> cosplay. An azure blouse that combined what looked to be the low-cut, subtly-laced top half of a Victorian-era dress for the top; down bottom, white breeches, horizontally striped faint, thin lines of gray. A white corset hugged her waist. Brown, thigh-length boots had replaced the shoes she'd worn with her school uniform. Though her shoulders and collarbone were bare, the blouse was not sleeveless. Her arms were covered by fine sleeves terminating with more of that same subtle lace, complimented by white silk gloves. A white, lacey quarter-skirt-looking thing hung from the rear-left of her belt, which was silver. The other thing that hung from it looked to be a sword frog into which a scabbard was snuggly secured.</p><p>And in the hand that Shiho wasn't staring at, she held the goddamn <em>Italian longsword</em> that went with it — one of those thin, rapier-looking numbers with the fancy hilts.</p><p>The ghost-thing was something else entirely, though. Beneath an angled, flower-adorned perch hat and black net veil, a womanly figure in a flowing silver dress hovered. Kyo couldn't see her feet; her skirt fluttered above the floor, disembodied. And it was only after Kyo realized as much as that, when she saw the truth of the woman's <em>body</em>, too: it was made of cracked, scuffed porcelain, like a doll. Though there was glass-crafted black hair visible beneath the hat, curly and elegant in a short, ladylike fashion that complimented the ghost's jaunty little piece of headgear, Kyo could not make out any distinctive facial features beneath the veil that hung from the hat atop it. She had the fleeting impression that if the veil were lifted, the face that it revealed might have been the utterly anonymous visage of a department store mannequin.</p><p>It held both hands in front of it, clutching a gleaming blade of its own: a thin, double-edged blade attached to a diamond-encrusted pommel and straight, prominent cross guard, giving it the appearance of a cross from a Christian church.</p><p>Kyo's throat had gone dry, unable to produce more than a croaking sound, let alone the sounds that constructed Shiho's name or — Outer Heaven forbid — might have been enough to voice a coherent question. She was so bowled over that when the surviving guard-monster roared its battle-cry, she was a comically catatonic sitting duck.</p><p>It was a good thing Shiho had her covered! Yep. A very good thing. It didn't take a genius to figure out where that Icicle of Death had come from when there was a magical porcelain ghost-mannequin paladin princess in the room. What else could have done it?</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It was... intoxicating. It was a rush. It felt really, really good. The only time in her life that Shiho had felt <em>better</em> than this was in the heat of that last big game...!</p><p>She looked down at her hands, now gloved, one of them clutching a thin, bladed object, a sword with a blade like a huge needle. She reached up to feel her face with her left hand, relishing the feel of smooth unbroken skin. There was no pain, not any more. Nor was there fear. Shiho felt like she was brimming with energy. Not just that: pure, distilled indignation. She felt as if her humiliation and rage at Kamoshida was now a tangible substance, could be directed and given form...</p><p><strong><em>Yes. That is the power I shall grant you, if you desire it,</em></strong> said the voice of Tess in her mind. <em><strong>You need only ask, and I will assist you in breaking through this crisis.</strong></em></p><p>Then —</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Quickly, now! The enemy yet lives!</strong> </em>
</p><p>Shiho reacted on instinct, as Kyo scrambled to remove a book from one of the shelves and the clanker on the right took a swing at her with its sword. She thrust her hand out toward it, directing cold fury as a concentrated force: an icicle sprang from the floor at her whim, a lance formed of thought, impaling the aggressor through its masked helmet. Shiho froze as surely as the ice had.</p><p>Had she...</p><p>...Had she really just done that?</p><p>Shiho was only half-aware of the bookcase sliding shut with King Kamoshida behind it, or of the second guard, which had just found its feet in the back corner near that same shelf. She lifted her left hand and flexed the fingers of its inexplicable silk glove, gazing at it in wonder. That power... had been... hers. She had done that. It had felt so, so... natural... Kyo's voice floated through the haze, saying that Kamoshida would need a chamber pot soon. A giggle bubbled up from the same chest that had been held in thrawl to Shiho's fear less than a minute ago... yes, he <em>would</em> be needing that chamber pot soon.</p><p>But what had she just done?</p><p><strong> <em>The power of ice and frost, Bufu. A potent spell </em> </strong> <strong> <em>— but not the only power at your command. Remain at the ready, my other self. One foe yet remains.</em> </strong></p><p>Kyo had staggered back toward her, and turned, now gawking at her. Shiho could only imagine how strange she must look, in this odd outfit... and with Tess hovering behind her. Shiho could feel her there without even looking, as if Tess were an extension of her own consciousness, a second bundle of nerve endings connected to her own via wireless access. It was unfamiliar, yet familiar. It felt almost as if Tess had always been there.</p><p>The second clanker, the sole remaining danger in the room, arched its back and let loose a scream of anger. Shiho tensed, preparing to lash out with her power... but it exploded in a cloud of black. What appeared in its place startled her, to a point where she almost failed to react in time.</p><p>An armored knight now sat on horseback on the opposite end of the room, holding the reins in one hand and a wicked spear in the other. It lined up its weapon, tugged the rain... it was going to charge Kyo down, and Kyo was still staring at <em>her</em>—!</p><p>"No you don't!" Shiho snapped, whipping up that free hand and snapping her fingers. As the horse began to gallop, ice shards exploded around its eyes, sending it into a wild, bucking frenzy. Kyo's head whipped around; she blurted out a very obscene word indeed and rushed to Shiho's side.</p><p>"What the hell, girl, where've ya been hidin' <em>this</em> the whole time?!" Kyo asked, all shaky and high-pitched with awe and excitement.</p><p>Shiho didn't respond, because she didn't know the answer herself. More importantly, there was a monster knight still in the room with them. She bared her teeth in a snarl and snapped her finger again. Flames erupted, burning bright, this time around the monster's legs. The horse neighed, unperturbed, but then it toppled onto its side in its distraction...</p><p><em> <strong>Let your rage consume the enemies before you with purifying flame </strong> </em> <strong> <em>— the magic of Agi. It doesn't seem to be effective on this one, however... I suggest that you finish this way you began it.</em> </strong></p><p>The monster horse writhed on the ground, the knight attempting to dislodge its leg from beneath so he could stand. Shiho raised a hand above her, lips tightening, eyes narrowing. Her hand closed in a fist; she extended her thumb.</p><p>"This is my answer to His Majesty's request," Shiho said coldly. "<em>Go fuck a woodchuck</em><em>.</em>"</p><p>She brought whipped her thumb around and down, Tess mimicking the gesture behind her. A mass of ice materialized above the knight in the shape of a pendulum blade and descended, colliding with the knight's unprotected neck. Freed from the shoulders beneath it, his helmet rolled along the floor, until it collided with a desk leg and stopped. Then it melted into black slime, the knight's body and his horse following suit swiftly thereafter.</p><p>Shiho exhaled, letting her hand drop, closing her eyes.</p><p>"<em>Shit</em>, that was cool..." Kyo breathed next to her.</p><p>There was an awkward pause, then, as Shiho opened her eyes and stared dully at the shorter girl next to her. Kyo stared back, first uncomprehending, then with a cringing look of realization.</p><p>"...Didn't mean the pun," Kyo grunted. "But that was awesome. What was that thing, just now? ...And where'd you get that <em>mask</em> from? Is that a <em>sword</em>?"</p><p>For Tess had faded away, and the ballroom mask had reappeared on Shiho's face. But Tess hadn't left her; Shiho could still feel her there. Inside. In her heart.</p><p><em><strong>Where I will always be,</strong></em> promised the voice in Shiho's mind, <strong><em>ready to answer your call when you are in need.</em></strong></p><p>The voice grew quiet, becoming a mute presence within. Shiho smiled softly, savoring the feeling, and slid her sword into the scabbard at her hip.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Kyo waited for Shiho to answer, but before that answer came, the door to the library swung open with a bang. Knights stormed in, with a really <em>big </em>one in gaudy golden armor at the head of the invasion force. Answers would have to wait until they were home free, looked like!</p><p>Instinct took over, because Kyo had already half-formed an idea for how they could get out of this mess. She grabbed Shiho under her elbow and pulled her away from the door and the armored monster-person-things. With her friend in tow she retreated to the back of the room, to where another of those locking books had been set. She glanced at the shelves there — Shiho's name and Ann's name both jumped out at her, and the locking book's title, <em>The Queen Book</em> — but she was distracted only for a moment before wrenching her attention back to the soldiers. The golden knight in front stood imposingly on the other side of the two desks, his men spreading out to the left and right, four in total.</p><p>Shiho tensed beside her, maybe preparing to use that weird power again...</p><p>"No sudden moves, Tin Man! Keep your attack dogs back!" Kyo shouted, holding the Slave Book over her head with both hands. "Any o' you aluminum foil <em>jackasses </em>even breathes in a way I don't like, and we'll get <em>really </em>medieval in here with a good, old-fashioned book-burnin' wiener roast! Shiho, be ready t' light 'er up if they push it!"</p><p>The soldiers, which had begun advancing in their knight-captain's wake, all stopped when he did. Shiho looked at Kyo sharply, but a spark of understanding when Kyo met her eyes made it obvious that she'd caught on quick. And then the mask whiffed out of existence in a flash of blue fire: the cracked porcelain ghost-woman was back, holding a hand out very close to the book, gentle flames springing to life mere inches from it, tauntingly tickling the air.</p><p><em>Four hundred and fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit,</em> the green-haired girl thought randomly. <em>That's two-thirty-three Celsius, am I rememberin' right? I think we've got that covered, heh. Just try me, you bucket-wearin' court jesters! I'll do it and laugh. Try me!</em></p><p>Kyo's teeth bared themselves in that shark-like grin when the golden knight took a step back. As much as she wanted to say that to their faces, her goal here <em>was</em> actually to escape alive alongside Shiho, so her taunting took on a different form.</p><p>"Alright then, Cap'n Crunch, listen up and listen good," Kyo said. "I got some Nutrition Facts for ya. His Hypocrisy needs t' have his recommended daily value—"</p><p>A particularly loud bang shook the bookshelf to the left, knocking one of the books off the top and sending it flopping to the floor with a page-crinkling and a thump. It was followed by a muffled, indecipherable bellow of pitiful man-rage. <em>Ah, what a glorious, salty sound. Also, well-timed. Thanks, Chin-chan!</em></p><p>"—of not bein' trapped in a pitch-black gimp room," Kyo went on as if she hadn't been interrupted. "And the Ministry-recommended dietary supplement for that? It just so happens t'be a heapin' helpin' of <em>guide us to the exit and let us leave in peace</em>, part o' this complete breakfast. Do that, and we might just be givin' this book back to y'all. But good luck gettin' him outta that room if ya piss us off enough t' destroy one o' your stupid key items, get me?"</p><p>Kyo's grin turned into a thin mocking smile.</p><p>"So, 'what say you,' Men o' the Slightly North-Northwest? Can we do business, or is this gonna be happenin' the hard way?"</p><p>Shiho had stepped forward, her ghost-woman thing remaining where it was with book-consuming fire magic at the ready. The costumed girl had assumed a stiff ready stance with her Italian sword, just in case the knights decided to attack in spite of Kyo's impromptu hostage tactic. But it turned out to be unnecessary. The knight in gold lowered his weapon. An incoherent, frustrated growl heralded the words of surrender that Kyo had hoped he would answer with.</p><p>"Very well," said the guard captain. "It seems we have no choice but to comply with your demand. But know that if you betray us, we will show you no mercy."</p><p>"Music t' my ears, Crunchybutt! Kyeheh...!" Kyo snickered. "Leave the other armored idiots here. You can lead us out alone. Once we're outside, I'll leave the book somewhere near the door and ya can come out and get it. Deal?"</p><p>"...I accept your terms," the man-shaped thing in golden armor said. He turned to his subordinates. "The rest of you will guard His Majesty while I escort our... guests... to the castle gate. Do not follow. I will take responsibility for our failure..."</p><p>Another bang and yell from the torture chamber. Kyo's smile widened.</p><p>"You sir, are smarter than your average über-mook," she said smugly. "Lead the way, then, and let's not take the scenic route, yeah? I'm sick enough o' this tacky castle t' barf all over the rug and call it an interior decoratin' upgrade."</p><p>"Your vulgarity does you no credit," the guard captain said, with barely-restrained anger. "...Follow. And know that I only tolerate your impertinence for the glory of King Kamoshida."</p><p>Kyo looked back at Shiho and winked. The other girl's eyes were glinting with mischief and restrained laughter, but she kept her sword poised and ready to strike with at a moment's notice. The steel-clad guards moved to stand by the secret bookcase door, staying well clear of the library entrance as the captain stepped out, followed by Kyo, the ghost-woman, and finally Shiho...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Oh jeez, this was great. This was <em>glorious</em>. It took everything Shiho had to let Kyo do the talking, because she felt like she would double over in a fit of giggles at any moment. This was amazing. This was <em>perfect.</em> Even Kyo's bugnuts silly breakfast cereal ultimatum, which would have been just stupid at any other time, tickled her like nothing else ever had. Maybe the situation was funny on its own merits, yeah, but more importantly: they were getting <em>out</em> of that nightmare castle. It was such a relief that Shiho could have almost burst out in song.</p><p>She hadn't exactly known what they were going to do to escape. She'd thought, maybe, that she could use Tess's magic to clear a path so that they could run for it if it came to that, but she and Kyo still had no idea where in the castle the way <em>out </em>was. And Shiho could already feel fatigue setting in, both mentally and physically. Even though she felt like she could take on the world whenever she called upon Tess, she also had a feeling that she couldn't sustain it long enough to brute-force her way through an army. Maybe if she could get some rest first she could, but...</p><p>...but it wouldn't be necessary to test it, because Kyo — the sneaky little imp! — had stolen one of the three book-keys that controlled the sliding shelf, and had managed to trap King Kamoshida on the other side of it. And even better, she'd threatened the guards with burning it and trapping their king in there unless the king's own men secured their escape for them and guided the two of them out.</p><p>Even after the urge to laugh subsided, Shiho couldn't help losing herself a little in the vindictive afterglow, picturing Kamoshida's apoplectic fury in the lightless prison they'd trapped him in. The gold-armored Clanker Captain led them down corridors, around corners, down a spiral staircase, down more corridors, and... oh, gosh, they would have had a lot of ground to cover if they'd had to do this on their own, wouldn't they? Now that Shiho understood the magnitude of the task that <em>would</em> have stood before them, she was glad that an alternative had presented itself.</p><p>Whatever doubts Shiho had about Kyo's past as it had been rudely exposed by King Kamoshida, she figured it would be ungrateful to think too badly of the girl after this. She still wanted to ask about it... it sounded like Kyo had been just a really <em>gross</em> person, before coming to Tokyo. But, she would ask about it nicely, and try to keep an open mind. It was the least Shiho could do, considering she just might owe her life to the other girl's resourcefulness now.</p><p>It was a long march, and by the end of it Shiho felt her power beginning to wane, saw the flames that Tess held aloft begin to flicker and shrink. But they were, at last, in a large front hall, bearing a heroic painting of the very same King Kamoshida they had seen idolized in the chapel—dressed like a warrior here and holding a sword aloft heroically, instead of looking like a parody of a BDSM dominant as portrayed by some crude mangaka who had no idea what S&amp;M was like. There were massive chandeliers up above, and Shiho could see the railings and pillars of upper walkways connected to the ground floor by a huge, wide, carpeted staircase leading directly up to that narcissistic portrait.</p><p>All along the way, the Clanker Captain had warned other guards to clear a path and keep distance, had made sure their path was safe, unthreatened. Now, he stepped up to the door closest to them at the front hall, the left-most of three massive double doorways that stood wide enough for several people to pass through each at once, and nearly as tall as the third-story ceiling. He threw it open with both arms, revealing the open stone courtyard beyond, and the familiar architecture of modern-day Tokyo that stood beyond. It was the narrow street that Shiho knew so well, the one just outside the school's front gate.</p><p>Had Shujin Academy truly become a castle? King Kamoshida's castle? It was so on the nose that Shiho felt the urge to dissolve into giggles returning, but she was so close to escape now that nothing could distract her from how tense she was, and how tenuous her hold on Tess's magic felt now. Her body was beginning to tingle uncomfortable, as if she'd gone too long without food and was nearing the point of dizziness, collapse...</p><p>"Your path to freedom is clear," Clanker Captain said grudgingly. "Leave the Slave Book upon the ground as agreed, and we will not pursue you once you have departed..."</p><p>"I'm sensing a 'but' at the end of that statement," Shiho observed, narrowing her eyes at the captain.</p><p>Kyo snorted, derisive, but the guard captain ignored her. He stared fixedly at Shiho through his helmet instead.</p><p>Then he said, "If either of you are ever caught within King Kamoshida's domain again, there will be no mercy and no lenience. You will be executed on the spot. Do I make myself clear?"</p><p>"Crystal coconuts," Kyo said blandly, flipping the bird with a free hand as she turned away. "The hospitality sucks, anyways. My room didn't even a bed in it. Can ya believe that? What kinda royal suite doesn't even have a bed in it. God. Total effin'... <em>one star review</em>, Jeeves. Would not go again."</p><p>"No kidding," Shiho said, holding the captain's gaze for several seconds as she backed out of the door behind Kyo. The Clanker Captain watched them until they were halfway across the courtyard. At this point, Kyo stopped, laid the Slave Book gingerly on the ground, and hopped back, giving the gold-armored creature a sarcastic double-thumbs-up.</p><p>With that, she turned and sprinted away.</p><p>Shiho remained there, staring at the book, wrestling with a temptation to use her last trickle of stamina to cast Agi, to burn it anyway and leave King Kamoshida trapped in that hell-room that represented... what, the real Kamoshida's perception of her? It was a fraction of the punishment that he deserved, she thought.</p><p>But she also knew better than to push her luck when she was almost out of gas. It was a lesson Shiho had learned and learned <em>very</em> well over the hours and hours of volleyball practice she'd pushed through over the past three or four years.</p><p>So she looked up, met the guard captain's eyes one last time through his helmet... and turned, allowing Tess to fade and the mask to solidify on her face once again. She slid her sword into the scabbard on her belt. And then she broke into a sprint of her own, pushing to catch up with Kyo, to put distance between herself and that nightmare castle before the Clanker Captain could retrieve the Slave Book, or muster the other soldier-things to chase after them...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>And then, suddenly, unexpectedly? Kyo had emerged from a narrow alley onto a normal, human-populated street, one she recognized as a thoroughfare between the station and the most populous side of Aoyoma-Itchome.</p><p>"Whoa!" she blurted, windmilling her arms frantically to her sides.</p><p>She stopped, skipped, stumbled, and managed to keep from overbalancing. She had just steadied herself when something heavy and warm bowled her over from behind and toppled her to the sidewalk, forcing her to throw her arms up over her face to protect it from pavement rushing up to meet it. She'd have scratched up her elbows pretty bad, too, if not for uniform. Praise the sun for blazers and their long sleeves, eh?</p><p>That "something heavy and warm" yelped in alarm and confusion as it slam-tackled her to the floor, so Kyo knew right away that it was Shiho. So they were both out, then? They were safe? Everything was going to be okay now?</p><p>"<em>You have returned to the real world,</em>" announced a mechanical, feminine voice from the region of Kyo's cargo pants. Well, then! If her phone said it, it <em>had </em>to be true. Kyo huffed out a disgruntled breath against the pavement, letting the tension begin to drain out of her at last.</p><p>"Perfect three-point landin'," she grumbled. "Hey, Shiho? I'm a little too straight t' enjoy havin' another girl on top o' me. Not that you're subpar or anythin', y'know. I'm sure some other guy or girl'd get all blushy and stuff over this. But me, I'm just feelin' kinda... y'know... stuck."</p><p>"Oof, sorry..." groaned Shiho. Even so, she didn't move to get up right away. "I feel like I just ran a marathon. Just be my pillow for about thirty seconds, alright? I don't wanna move... my arms feel like they've turned to jelly."</p><p>Kyo would have protested if Shiho hadn't sounded so breathless and pitiful, but as it was, Shiho <em>did</em> sound exactly breathless and pitiful enough that Kyo would have felt like an ass if she gave the girl a hard time.</p><p>So she just made a noise like an annoyed cocker spaniel and pushed up from the ground herself, letting Shiho tumble gently off her. The other girl rolled onto her back and lay there, arms splayed to the sides, shaking weakly with fatigue. Passersby were giving them weird looks now... but it had nothing to do with Shiho's crazy anime cosplay, because the costume and mask had disappeared. She was back in her Shujin uniform... even the sword and scabbard were gone.</p><p>Hopping to her feet and dusting off her blazer, Kyo turned to bow in apology to the nearest pedestrians. "Sorry, sorry! We were out for an exercisin' run, see, and... she overdid it. Just needs some water! I'll move her outta the way..."</p><p>Shiho groaned again, and pushed herself to a sitting position. Her arms looked all weak and wobbly... it looked like she'd flop back down on the sidewalk at any moment.</p><p>Kyo stepped to one side of her. Then she knelt down next to her friend, and helped Shiho drag herself over to the wall so she could sit against it and stay out of the way of the people who were passing through this way and that way on their way to this, that, and the other. That done, Kyo lowered herself down and folded her legs Indian-style beneath her, leaning back against the wall on Shiho's left. Shiho promptly slid along the wall, leaning her head against Kyo's shoulder. It was such unapologetic physical contact that Kyo had to smile: it was like, for these few minutes anyway, she had a really plum-gosh-tuckered-out older sister.</p><p>"So," Kyo announced, "that was a thing that happened."</p><p>"Yeah," Shiho sighed, settling in against Kyo's jacket and closing her eyes. "Yeah, it was."</p><p>The two sat together like that in silence for a few minutes, basking in the hustle and bustle and normalcy of ordinary city foot-traffic. Kyo wanted to go back the way they'd come, to see if what awaited them there was Shujin Academy or a castle... but that could wait. For now, they were free and they were alive, and that was enough. Pulling her phone out and glaring at it as if it had insulted her ancestors, Kyo exited the navigator app and held her finger down over the icon that obscured Morrigan's right boob until it zoomed up into "move" status.</p><p>She slid it up and held it over the "uninstall" icon... but she couldn't do it. Whatever that unnamed app was, it was magic, and there were too many unanswered questions left to just get rid of it without investigating further. From now on, Kyo decided, she would just be careful. She returned the icon to its previous spot. After which she locked the device, pocketed it, and leaned back against the wall, whispering every swearword she knew in alphabetical order, both mild and obscene, beginning with the Japanese and then moving onto American English — a much, much longer list that filled time beautifully.</p><p>Shiho started shaking with silent giggles against her side, around the point where Kyo got to the British ones. Kyo couldn't blame her. "Plonker" had always been too beautiful a word for this world, she believed. If anything deserved to have a portrait drawn of it in shining armor and a regal cape, that word did.</p><p>After the swearing marathon wound down (she also happened to know a few French and German obscenities, plus one or two in Korean), Kyo took a deep breath and waited for Shiho's giggles to subside.</p><p>"I have a date with Ryuji-kun in a bit," she said, calmly but cautiously. Kyo'd seen what time it was when she'd taken out her phone and knew she'd have to text him soon, but this was something that couldn't wait. "D'ya wanna go for some takoyaki before I meet up with 'im? I have some questions, and, well... I imagine you've got a few for me, too. I think we should clear the air, yeah? Otherwise we'll just get all twisted up about stuff. That's what I think."</p><p>Shiho nodded. "Takoyaki sounds swell," she said heavily. A moment later, she blushed: her stomach had grumbled loudly enough for Kyo to feel the vibrations through their uniforms. Snickering, Kyo got to her feet and offered a hand to help Shiho up, which she took gladly. She was smiling as Kyo pulled her to her feet.</p><p><em>Maybe Shiho won't think too badly of me, after all,</em> Kyo thought. <em>Well, only one way to find out...</em></p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Haru Okumura sighed in dejection. Kyo hadn't come out through the front gate as Kamoshida had suggested yet, and it had been nearly an hour and forty minutes. At this point, she just had to accept that she wouldn't be meeting her cousin today. It was disappointing. Haru had been looking forward to getting to know someone from her family who... someone who wasn't caught up in her father's business or ambitions. Aunt Eri had been insistent that Kyo-chan would like her if all she did was be herself and accept her cousin for who she was.</p><p>The curly-haired girl took one last look at the front door of the school, hoping against hope that Kyo would step through at the last second, dramatically bursting into her life like a super-heroine of smiles and kinship. Alas, no. It was not to be.</p><p>"...Oh well," Haru mumbled, hanging her head. "There's always tomorrow."</p><p>Haru turned away and hitched her purse-strap more securely on her shoulder. Yes, she thought, there was tomorrow! Now that she knew what her cousin looked like, there was no reason not to just wait by the gate to meet her on her way in to school, actually! Yes, Haru thought with a hopeful smile. Yes, she would do that.</p><p>They might have still run into each other that day, but it so happened that Haru took the long way around out of school, a habit she'd developed to prolong her trip home for just a little while, to delay the need to speak with her father or the servants. The outdoors were nice, and the unfamiliar passersby were blissfully ignorant of her standing and therefore, unjudging. It was relaxing, like gardening. Peaceful. She could lose herself in it.</p><p>So she took the scenic route to Aoyoma-Itchome Station and missed Kyo completely. Such was life, but perhaps things had worked out for the best in the end.</p><hr/><p><span class="u"><strong>Shiho Suzui's Persona:<br/></strong></span>- <span class="u">Name:</span> Tess<br/>- <span class="u">Arcana:</span> XII - The Hanged Man<br/>- <span class="u">Origin:</span> <em>Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented </em>by Thomas Hardy (1891)<br/>- <span class="u">Mask:</span> A white ballroom mask that covers the upper portion of Shiho's face, fancy but restrained in design, fashioned with small rose-etchings across its surface.<br/>- <span class="u">Costume:</span> White breeches and brown boots with a low-cut, long-sleeved azure blouse and white silk gloves, with a quarter-skirt hanging from the back of her belt.<br/>- <span class="u">Basic Resistances:</span> Fire, Ice<br/>- <span class="u">Weaknesses:</span> Nuclear, Psy<br/>- <span class="u">Initial Skills:</span> Agi, Bufu</p><p>With an idealized feminine figure crafted of porcelain, cracked and scuffed wherever clothing does not cover it, Tess lacks a lower body, a deficiency masked by the fluttering skirt of her Victorian-style silver gown. Tess's face is obscured by a dark veil that hangs from the flower-adorned perch-hat angled atop her head, making it impossible to determine whether or not the doll-head beneath has any distinctive facial features to go with the curly black porcelain hair visible in the back. In her hands she clutches a long, European-style double-edged sword with a diamond-encrusted pommel and a prominent crossguard that gives the weapon a crucifix-like profile.</p><p>In combat, Tess possess two offensive magical elements, fire and ice, as well as a potent capacity for physical attacking skills based around the use of its sword. However, in exchange for this versatility, it is only capable of learning single-target offensive skills. Its true strength is in support spells: it is capable of purging status ailments and casting group-wide status buff spells, and can eventually learn a passive skill which gradually restores Shiho's SP reserves over time.</p><p>Shiho's highest-level "endgame" spell is Blessed Wind, a high-cost, group-wide skill that dispels all debuffs from the party before applying the effects of Tarukaja, Rakukaja, and Sukukaja to all targets. The mental effort of using this spell prevents Shiho from acting or defending herself immediately afterward, however, requiring her companions to protect her during that short but significant recovery period.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. 1-7: Talk, Text, and Takoyaki</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kyo Morinaga doesn't do friendship by halves. If Shiho's secrets are out, so are her own.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Seven -<br/>"Talk, Text, and Takoyaki"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><strong>S</strong>hiho hadn't felt so utterly drained and immobile since her very, very first serious training workout. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd told Kyo that her arms felt like they'd turned to jelly, and her legs weren't much better off. It was so, so very strange, though. She felt as if she'd been working her entire body non-stop for at least an hour, and her brain was buzzing, her thoughts barely coherent. But she hadn't been doing much at all, had she? She'd been standing there, and she'd been walking, and Tess, the spirit-thing that had emerged from her soul, <em>she</em> had been doing all the work...</p><p>Had that even been real? As she walked alongside Kyo, half-dragging her feet, Shiho closed her eyes. She wasn't worried about walking into anyone... Kyo had an arm around her and was helping her walk steady, so Kyo could be her eyes for a moment. So Shiho let the world go dark, and found...</p><p>...that Tess was still there.</p><p>It wasn't as if she could hear the spirit's voice, like she had before. No, it was silent now. And though she was reluctant to even try with so many people around, Shiho knew intuitively that even if she had the privacy with which to attempt it, she would not be able to call upon the power she had used in King Kamoshida's castle. She didn't know why, not for sure, but she suspected the answer was simple. She <em>suspected </em>that the power would only work in that dream-place, that castle of Kamoshida's desires, or in other, similar places...</p><p>"This looks good," Kyo said. "C'mon, here's a bench."</p><p>Shiho pushed herself to stand straight, opening her eyes, and managed to do it without swaying this time. Kyo had led them to a takoyaki shop that Shiho recognized, a tiny little counter-in-the-wall business sandwiched between two larger establishments, a Wild Duck Burger and a barber shop. Shiho had never tried the barber's; her mother cut her hair for free every month or two. And fast food was something Shiho tended to enjoy in strict moderation, so the takoyaki stand was the only one of the three businesses here that she had any real opinion on.</p><p>It was alright. She'd certainly tasted worse in the way of fried food, but she had to admit, she was with Ann on this one: she preferred crepes, if she was going to go out snacking at all. Still, she thought... fried or otherwise, it probably wasn't so bad to default to something with seafood and onions inside it, if she wanted to rejuvenate herself after, after... whatever had tired her out so much today.</p><p>"Heh, I'd better not go overboard," Kyo said, as Shiho sat down in front of her. "I needta save room for dinner. Still, I'm... kinda tired, which is weird. We weren't in there for that long, were we? And I can understand why <em>you'd</em> be bushed, but <em>I</em> spent most o' that time <em>sittin' down</em>."</p><p>Shiho had to wonder about that; the other girl was quite right. Kyo hadn't done much of anything until the very end. Not in terms of physical exertion, anyway. Kyo had more than pulled her weight when it came to keeping Shiho from falling to pieces in the beginning, taking the lead in making sure they weren't killed by armored monster-things, and... and getting them out of the castle. She'd also taken a bit of a beating, and... oh!</p><p>"Kyo, is your head alright?" Shiho said suddenly, leaning forward. "You fell and hit your head, and then Kamo..." A slight pause, as she corrected herself: "...that man had his foot right up against it, and pulled you around by your hair, and..."</p><p>The green-haired girl looked at her, blank-faced as if she'd forgotten all about it. Then, she rubbed at her hair, where she'd been bleeding before. Her hand came away, completely clean.</p><p>"Huh, weird," Kyo said. "I don't feel a bump... coulda sworn it felt like there'd be one. I don't feel any injury at all. Maybe injuries ya get in one o' those dream-desire places don't come with ya when you leave. Y'know, like... maybe the injury's as much a dream as the castle is? But maybe that's also why I feel a bit exhausted. Hm. It's somethin' t' think about, anyways."</p><p>None of the passersby were paying enough attention to notice the weird part of what Kyo had said, and Shiho figured it wouldn't matter if someone did hear something. People tended to gravitate toward mundane, nonthreatening explanations for things... it was part of what made covering up Kamoshida's abuses so easy. If people didn't want to notice, they just wouldn't notice. As long as Kyo and Shiho kept their voices down, they might as well be arranging plans for a shopping trip with Ann for all the rest of the world knew or cared.</p><p>Kyo shrugged, then grinned at Shiho.</p><p>"Never mind me, you're way worse off than I am," she said seriously, in spite of her grin. "I'll deal with our orders, so you just sit here and get some rest. They serve drinks, too, yeah? What should I order for ya?"</p><p>"Oh, um." Shiho paused. "If they have any kind of juice or iced tea, I'd like some of that. As for takoyaki, you're the Osaka girl. I'll defer to whatever you think I'd like. I've only had it a few times, so..."</p><p>Kyo snapped a finger. "I gotcha covered. You're an athlete, so you'll want somethin' a little less fatty if they have it and maybe with some extra veggie toppings. Then again, if whatever you were doin' back there's calorie intensive, maybe we don't needta worry much about keepin' it lean... yeah, I think I know just the thing..."</p><p>So Shiho sat, losing herself in a vaguely pleasant daze of lazy non-thought while Kyo stepped up to the counter and ordered enough takoyaki for both girls to share. When she returned, it was with a single large order: a long, narrow cardboard container with fourteen takoyaki balls arranged in two rows, decorated with appealing-looking sauces and dressed with a sprinkling of greens. The presentation wasn't bad, considering the prices Shiho remembered this stand selling for, but it was definitely on the cheaper side when it came to that particular comfort food.</p><p>Shiho imagined that if she ever took a trip to Kyo's home city, there'd probably be no shortage of high-end takoyaki shops to sample from. It was something to keep in mind for the future, she supposed. She might even end up heading that way for a volleyball game one of these days.</p><p>"I'll only take four," Kyo said as she sat down, handing a medium glass of iced tea over to Shiho and then setting the takoyaki on the bench between them. There were two sets of little chopsticks, or... toothpicks? So Shiho took a pair for herself when Kyo grabbed the other.</p><p>"I wanna be able t' get an extra large over in Ramen Town tonight. Ryuji-kun strikes me as a big eater and, y'know!" Kyo laughed, plucking up a takoyaki ball on her side of the container — spearing it on her mini-chopsticks, really. "I can't let him out-do me before we've even hit first base, that'd just be embarrassin'. Gotta show my new boy toy who really wears the pants."</p><p>Shiho took a sip of her iced tea, which turned into a long, hearty gulp. When she came up for air, Shiho found she'd drained it almost halfway, and exhaled a heavy sigh of satisfaction. She hadn't realized how thirsty she'd been until just then... and it felt like the buzzing in her head had lowered in volume just from that one refreshing gulp, allowing her to think more clearly. Even so, she didn't know what Kyo was talking about. Shiho thought it sounded a little familiar, but...</p><p>"What do you mean by 'first base?'" she asked.</p><p>"Never heard the sayin' before?" Kyo said with a snort, taking a small bite of her takoyaki. She chewed a bit, and swallowed. "I guess it's more of a guy thing... if you've kissed, you've made it to first base; second base is touchin' above the waste. Third's below. And... home plate's exactly what ya think it is. Mostly guys use that sorta talk t' tell each other how 'far' they've gotten with a girl, y'know."</p><p>"Oh," was Shiho's intellectual response to the micro-lecture. She tried to decide whether she was amused or put off by the idea that boys compared their progress with intimacy to baseball. She decided it would probably be a little judgmental of her to think badly of it, and settled for an exasperated shake of her head. "I've never met a girl who's so comfortable talking like that, before... Ann isn't exactly skittish, but I don't think she'd be so nonchalant, either."</p><p>"Yeah, well," Kyo said dubiously, tilting her head back and frowning. "It's a holdover from my stupid years... there's some stuff I just decided weren't really the worst habits t' hold onto, even if the rest of it was pretty awful. This's one of 'em. I figure there's no harm bein' open about it. It's a natural part o' life and all, y'know?"</p><p>Shiho gently picked up a takoyaki ball, holding it over the container for a moment in anticipation of drips or drops. Thankfully, it wasn't greasy and the sauce hadn't been applied in excess, merely glazed. That much was definitely worth paying for, the cook at this stand knew how to keep things balanced for maximum enjoyment. She cupped a hand beneath it and brought it to her mouth, blowing on it.</p><p>It was quite hot. How was Kyo able to just eat hers flat-out without even letting it cool?</p><p>"Right," she said, blowing again. "Your 'stupid years.' I wanted to ask about that."</p><p>"Yeah... Kamoshida didn't exactly mince words when he was mouthin' off," Kyo said unhappily. "I'd hoped I could just leave that all behind, but I guess it found a way t' follow me here anyway. Just my luck, huh?"</p><p>Kyo popped the remainder of the snack into her mouth and picked up a second one as she chewed. Shiho bit into her own, testing the taste on her tongue as steam furled out from inside the now-broken-open ball. Kyo had chosen a good variety to order, she thought... she could see herself having this one a little more often than the kind she'd gotten before. It really did help to have someone along who knew a thing or two about Kansai foods.</p><p>"I won't say it doesn't make me feel a little uncomfortable about you," Shiho said carefully. "Especially that part about you... rubbing it in... other girl's faces...?"</p><p>Kyo winced. "Yeah," she whispered. "That was, uh... that was me at my worst."</p><p>"I'd like to hear your side of it, whatever it was," Shiho said gently. Kyo, who'd been munching on her second takoyaki ball, laughed humorlessly through her mouthful of food, pulling the remainder away and chewing with her eyes closed. Eventually, after savoring the flavor of it (or perhaps just using that as an excuse to stop and think), she swallowed and spoke again.</p><p>"There's not much <em>to</em> 'my side of it,'" she said shrewdly. "I've been gettin' laid on a regular basis since I was, what, thirteen I think?"</p><p>"That young?" Shiho blurted out, nearly choking on another sip of iced tea. If that wasn't the absolute earliest age she'd ever heard of girls being sexually active, it was skirting the bottom pretty hard at the least. Shiho couldn't imagine ever diving into it that early. Even when Kamoshida had<br/>(<em>don't get distracted focus focus focus</em>)<br/>even when Shiho herself had her first experience with that sort of thing, she had at least been fifteen, well into her freshman year at Shujin. Kyo had been fooling around with boys as early as two years before that? It seemed so, so... it seemed like a really, really bad idea, and Shiho must have picked up <em>some </em>of her mother's protective instincts after all, because she was now wrestling with an urge to lecture a girl who was <em>technically</em> her senpai about being careful and being safe... although Kyo must have done, right? She hadn't gone and gotten pregnant, or at least, Shiho assumed she hadn't...</p><p>Kyo smiled a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes, the change in expression pulling Shiho out of her unspoken worries.</p><p>"Stupid little me thought sex was somethin' that'd magically make a boy care about me," she said blandly. "<em>Stupid little me</em> was tryin' to compensate for not feelin' like I had a family worth a damn at home. Like I said, those years were my stupid ones."</p><p>"Oh, Kyo..." Shiho groaned. She had to put a hand to her eyes and cover them.</p><p>It wasn't as if this concept was new to her. She'd never experienced it herself, but it wasn't as if she hadn't had those kinds of romantic notions at one point in her life, toward the end of middle school maybe, around that same age. When her body had been changing, when she'd started looking at boys differently than she had before. She'd just been shyer about it, and more willing to listen to her mother's warnings. If a girl like Kyo believed she didn't have parents worth listening to, though...</p><p>"Yeah," Kyo said exasperatedly. "I know, I know. Well, later on, I got wiser. By then I was just kind of addicted to it, though. So I kept doin' it, maybe... once a month or so. Didn't take long t' figure out how t' find guys who were in it for the sex and nothin' else. Went out partyin' here and again, got into drinkin'..."</p><p>"Drinking, too," Shiho groaned. "Son of a..."</p><p>Kyo watched her for several seconds when Shiho trailed off, and then furiously picked up another takoyaki ball and shoved it, whole, into her mouth. That was a mistake: it was too damn hot! Shiho quickly chewed, breathed out through the mouthful of onion-and-octopus, expelling as much heat and steam through her teeth as she could, forcing herself to swallow bit by bit: as soon as she could she took another large gulp of ice-cold liquid to douse the fire in her mouth. Kyo continued to watch, shaking her head.</p><p>"You're supposed t' poke a hole in it first..." Kyo advised. "Vents the steam, see. But, yeah. I used to drink, too."</p><p>"Did you smoke? Get high?" Shiho asked with a little venom in her voice, though mostly the harshness in her tone came from the still-tinging roof of her mouth. Kyo winced, but shook her head.</p><p>"No, other'n booze and sex, I made mostly-okay decisions when it came t' my health," Kyo said. She looked down, frowning. "That didn't exactly come from a healthy <em>place</em>, though."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Shiho asked, a little exasperated now. How much of a train wreck had this girl's teenage rebellion turned her life into? Shiho was feeling (in spite of everything else) suddenly really glad she had a mother who'd raised her right. Not that Kyo was a bad person, no, but...</p><p>Kyo looked up, grinning then. She lifted a hand and tapped her forehead, raising her eyebrows.</p><p>"I've always been wired a bit funny up here," Kyo said. "I've never felt uncomfortable bein' a girl, not exactly. But when it came t' the cutesy little girl stuff everyone expected me t' like, see, I just... I'd always lose interest, space out, disengage and get bored. Never liked baby dolls, or dress-up dolls, or ponies, or cute cat things, always been more of a dog person actually... and I was never the biggest fan o' magical girl shows, I always liked meat and spicy food way more'n I like sweets and could never really bring myself t' worry about what it'd do t' my weight. And, like, the color pink makes me just wanna barf, yeah? Or it used to. I'm a bit mellower about that stuff nowadays, I just..."</p><p>Picking up a third takoyaki ball, Kyo held it up in front of her face and analyzed it dubiously, for all the world as if it were a small-scale model of her own brain. Shiho leaned in a little, considering the way Kyo had described herself.</p><p>It wasn't exactly revolutionary or unheard of, Shiho thought, for girls to decide that girly things were some kind of subtle form of social oppression. Although the way Ann told it, that was more of a western trend. The way Kyo talked about her own lack of interest in things, though, it sounded like it came from a different place, a more fundamental aspect of her psychological make-up. It kind of really <em>did</em> just sound like some people might be born with unorthodox temperaments, and Kyo happened to be one of them, and maybe the adults in her life just hadn't understood that.</p><p>Shiho had never thought of it that way before. Girls liking cute things and clothing and cake and soft colors, it had always just been the way things were, to her. Why was it the way things were? Well, now that she thought about it, Shiho realized she <em>hadn't </em>thought about it. She couldn't even begin to formulate an answer to that question. She supposed it all came back to the old question of nature versus nurture, and though Shiho would have thought girls who tried to be tomboys were going against both of those things at once, in Kyo's case... was it really a clash between nature and nurture? A girl with a... boyish kind of "nature" and parents trying to nurture it out of her?</p><p>Kyo was expanding on her admission even as Shiho thought about it.</p><p>"I guess at some point I got it in my head that people were 'forcing' me t' be feminine, so I thought, what god died and made <em>you</em> all the Kings and Queens o' France, yeah? Why's it matter what's a girl's thing t' like and what's a boy's? It didn't help that whenever I said I wanted somethin' that was a boy thing, like a video game or a superhero toy or whatever, my dad put his foot down and my mom went along with it. So I started doin' stuff like... like changin' into the boy's uniform on my way to school. Gettin' part-time jobs without my mom or dad knowin', and spendin' what I made t' get video games and manga. As soon as I had a laptop computer, I was downloadin' all sortsa western movies and junk, 'cause now even bein' forced t' like Japanese things was somethin' I didn't want."</p><p>She brought the takoyaki to her mouth.</p><p>"I guess I've always just been the type t' really <em>overcompensate</em> for that sorta thing."</p><p>Shiho listened, and as she did, she thought she could see the faint outline of what had led this girl to do the things Kamoshida had accused her of. While Kyo had been talking, Shiho had chewed and swallowed another fried octopus ball whole, making sure to poke a hole in it this time, so she sipped a bit more tea and claimed another. Kyo had been right: poking a hole in it had really helped, and it was better eaten whole, Shiho thought. Had she even been eating takoyaki properly before?</p><p>"So when was it that your... sex addiction..." Shiho asked slowly, "turned into... well... whatever it was you were doing?"</p><p>"Ah, shit, I don't even know," Kyo said sourly, before biting into her third. She swallowed yet again, shrugged, and said, "I just realized one day that I was pissed. All the other girls seemed t' find guys that cared or they had friends they could chat with whenever they wanted, and me, I was just that lonely little nymphomaniac with no one. I guess thrill-seekin' wasn't enough t' fill the void anymore. So it was jealousy. I started thinkin', like... those guys the other girls were goin' out with weren't genuine. Their feelings were fake. They were fakin' it because they wanted what a girl could give 'em and knew they had t' play the long game t' get it... so if I offered that with no strings attached, then..."</p><p>Shiho couldn't keep the disgust off her face, let alone out of her voice. "You seduced them so you could get all up in other girls' faces about it? Because you were jealous of what they had? Or did you just feel like you had something to prove?"</p><p>Kyo nodded, then stuffed the last of her third takoyaki ball into her mouth. Shiho wanted to ask which of the two reasons Kyo was admitting to, but had a strong feeling that Kyo had meant to admit to both at once.</p><p>She chewed for a while, Shiho watching her. After a few seconds, Shiho took a breath and closed her eyes, bowing her head and counting to ten. It was disgusting, what Kyo had confessed to doing, and why she'd been doing it. If it wasn't the worst form of bullying, it was definitely up there. That some girl had gone to her guidance counselor and spilled her guts about it only after Kyo had left the school spoke volumes to Shiho about how vicious Kyo must have been about it... but...</p><p>"Kyo," Shiho whispered. "You said... the way you were talking back there, you must have decided to stop..."</p><p>Kyo nodded again. But when she didn't immediately expand on that, Shiho had to prompt her again:</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>The green-haired teen picked up her fourth and final takoyaki ball, holding it up to her mouth and blowing on it.</p><p>"I fell in love," she said blandly. "With this real bad-boy type who just so happened t' have a heart o' gold. Didn't think guys like him really existed outside o' movies and anime, but... well, there it was."</p><p>Shiho stared, processing this. It was several seconds of silence later when she realized that some heat had risen to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the steamy fried food she was snacking on. Shiho brought her cup of tea up to her face and swiftly sipped at it to hide her blush. What Kyo had just said, it was so, so...</p><p>It was so <em>romantic!</em> It was cute. It was adorable. The stuff of daydreams. Like maybe it was something Shiho would have dreamed up in Ushimaru's class one day, if she decided to mentally outline a love story she'd never have the talent or ambition to actually write.</p><p>She coughed softly, swallowing a bit down the wrong pipe. When she'd found her breath again — Kyo staring at her with her eyebrow arched like that wasn't helping her subdue the girlish flush that had ruined her composure — Shiho hurriedly went for more takoyaki, trying to sound disinterested when she said, "S-so, this boy, he... fixed you, or something? Made you a better person?"</p><p>Kyo's other eyebrow went up to join the first.</p><p>"No one can fix you but yourself," Kyo said slowly, firmly. "No one can make you a better person but <em>yourself</em>. It's not that Kenshin made me better, he just... ah, shit, this is embarrassin'."</p><p>She lowered her head and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, still holding the last of her takoyaki with the other.</p><p>"My life ain't one o' those shitty romance novels written by idiots who don't know how brains work! I made myself a better person, and I did it my own stupid self. Kenshin just... he gave me a new perspective. On everythin' I'd been all bitchy and bitter about up 'til then. He was... he was just the catalyst, though. I never even found out if he knew about that side o' me... he never asked, or said anythin'. I don't see how he wouldn'ta known, we went t' the same school and all, but... if he knew, he left it alone. Maybe he woulda asked someday, but, he's dead and gone now. I guess I'll never know."</p><p>Shiho choked again, this time on a bite of takoyaki. Her free hand, which still held a bit more of it between chopsticks, flew up to cover her mouth.</p><p>Dead and gone now. So this wonderful, romantic bad-boy type that had changed Kyo so much, he was...</p><p>She coughed to clear her throat behind her hands, took a sip to wash the obstruction down, and set her drink aside. After about half a minute, in which Kyo sat glowering at the street in front of their bench, Shiho decided to speak:</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>Kyo waved her hand in dismissal, not looking back. "S'fine. I've had enough time t' do my mournin'. Besides, it's his sister who suffered the most..."</p><p>With a huff, Kyo leaned back, popped the last piece of takoyaki into her mouth, and chewed it with her hair thrown back behind her, face tilted skyward. She chewed, chewed, chewed, swallowed it in one massive lump and let out a loud exhale: when she opened her eyes, it looked as if she had cleansed herself somehow in the act. It was a very strange sense to get from someone swallowing a fried octopus ball, Shiho thought, but that was very much what it looked like.</p><p>Shiho asked, timidly, "How did... how did he die?"</p><p>She didn't know why she wanted to know this, she just did. Maybe it was just too big a question mark to leave hanging at the end of a story like this one, the story of an immature, bitter girl who'd found love and grown because of it, and then had it stolen from her. Kyo stayed in that same position, staring at the clouds above.</p><p>"They tell me it was one o' them psychotic breakdown episodes," Kyo said evenly, keeping her face blank. "Me and my man, we were out at night, plannin' to confront his sister about some... work she'd been doin'..."</p><p>A pause, Kyo looking thoughtful.</p><p>"I should explain that part, first. I wouldn't want you gettin' the wrong idea about why ended up in that situation. We weren't up t' no good, Kenshin got in fights a lot but he wasn't in any gangs, he didn't even drink like I did. Actually, it was him who got me t' think about easin' up. But, his sister... nice girl. Smiled a lot, really cheerful. Bit reserved but, y'know, energetic around other girls, knew how t' put her foot down when boys got a bit rowdy and dumb, without bein' disrespectful about it, y'know — I never told her this, but I really thought it was cool of her, how she never had an attitude about boys bein' boys. Does that make sense? Eh, I guess you know what I mean."</p><p>Shiho nodded, figuring she had a good enough idea: sometimes Ann was like that, and so were other girls. Kyo looked away, scratching her chin, and continued:</p><p>"But she had a secret. Her family was pretty deep in the hole... drunk, depressed deadbeat for a father, apparently he fell apart like Humpty Dumpty after their mom was killed in a mugging durin' a vacation overseas. All the king's horses and all the king's men never managed t' put him back together again. That was when they were young. Fast forward t' their high school years... both kids workin' jobs to keep their household afloat 'cause their dad couldn't hold down a steady job of his own. Things had gotten bad. They were about an inch from eviction when suddenly Ch... his sis came home sayin' she'd gotten a good enough job that she could pay the bills that month if Ken helped her. He didn't think much of it, but some of her behavior before that felt wrong t' me... like, she was losin' her spark, I guess... so I went snoopin'... probably I shouldn't've have, but she was Ken's baby sister, y'know? I couldn't just leave it be, not until I was sure there was nothin' to worry about."</p><p>Kyo trailed off, shook her head, and looked to Shiho, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>"I told you I disguised myself as a guy and snuck into a brothel once," she said, flatly, a little angrily. "This was about that. I'd followed her around long enough that I was sure she was sellin' herself — bona fide prostitution, you get me? It was worse than I could've guessed on my own. I wasn't gonna say anything t' Kenshin unless I was sure for <em>sure</em>, though."</p><p>Selling herself. Prostitution. Shiho felt sick to her stomach. They were talking about a high schooler, right? They were talking about a high schooler. The way things had been going, Shiho had thought, maybe... compensated dating, or something... or maybe a seedy red-light district restaurant, or...</p><p>"I posed as a new customer and snuck in, gettin' a lay o' the land," Kyo was saying. "You'd be surprised what you can do with a wig and the right kinda clothes and things. Only my height was a real problem, but I was able t' stand, y'know, just so: so that it looked like I was really just slouchin' and draggin' my feet. Made me look a little taller'n I am. Anyway, I managed t' buy myself about half an hour alone in a room with her, and told her who I was. Demanded answers. She tried t' talk me inta lettin' her be, sayin' it was none o' my business. I told her that if she was really that hard up, I could help, too! My family's really well off and I'd saved up a lot on my own anyway. But she wasn't havin' it. Apparently, me bein' her maybe possible future sister-in-law wasn't enough reason for me t' care about her or her family... she thought it was 'charity.' Didn't wanna take a <em>hand out</em>."</p><p>Shiho flinched. It wasn't hard to see this nameless girl's perspective. She and her mother, after all, both very much wanted to make it in the world on their own... if Shiho had a sibling whose significant other wanted to help, she wasn't sure she would have been comfortable with it... <em>But I wouldn't go that far just for pride,</em> Shiho told herself fiercely. On the heels of that: <em>Really, though? Wouldn't you? Why have you been letting Kamoshida walk all over you, then?</em></p><p>"...thing is, this was a really bad kinda place," Kyo said, leaning in and whispering now. "Bad in more ways than the one Ch... she, was already aware of. I'd been watchin' it for a while, pokin' my nose in under a buncha different wigs... it wasn't just any old brothel. It was mafia-run. I could hardly believe it when I got wind o' that. But it made sense, alluvasudden, why they were so willin' to hire Ken's sister. She's younger than <em>me</em>. Back then, she was only in her first year of high school. So they wanted t' appeal to a certain kinda crowd, and weren't super fussed if the business got busted after a few months and everyone they'd roped in to run it took the fall..."</p><p>Shiho stiffened. Oh. Oh <em>no. </em>Kyo had to be joking. Had to be. There was no damn way.</p><p>Kyo saw the reaction and smiled thinly, eyes expressionless.</p><p>"Yeah," she said. "It was that kinda place. Most o' the other girls who worked there had been scammed into it... or were runaways... of course, the establishment in question had plenty of <em>older women</em> t' run the front end o' things, so they looked like every other brothel in Tobita Shinchi from the outside. I dunno how Ch- ...Kenshin's sister found the place. I'd guess she started out with some o' that old-fashioned compensated datin' and happened t' meet someone connected to it. I wouldn't be surprised if that was one o' their recruitin' methods... but they didn't need t' scam her. She was willin' to go as far as she had to if it would earn her enough t' support her brother."</p><p>"Please, <em>please</em> tell me you reported them," Shiho whispered. Kyo looked back, expression not changing. For one horrifying second, Shiho actually believed the brothel was still in operation. But then Kyo shook her head, snorting, returning to where she'd been sitting.</p><p>"Didn't have to, though it helped that I had the face and name of a certain someone memorized from one o' my recon trips," Kyo said shrewdly. "But I only gave up that info 'cause the police asked me if I knew anythin' afterward. When Kenshin took a bullet, what d'ya think his sister had left t' lose? She reported it herself. She was coverin' for my dumb ass, really, and had her dad t' think about too..."</p><p>Kyo nibbled on her last takoyaki ball. Shiho figured that the whole lot of them must have cooled by now, but she couldn't bring herself to go for another. The subject matter of their conversation had taken a fast, hard turn down an avenue that almost made her own troubles look like no trouble at all. When Kyo had finished the last of her designated share, she dropped the chopsticks back into the container and folded her arms over her chest. The next noise she made was a growl of frustration.</p><p>"I told Kenshin, when she refused t' see reason," Kyo said through her teeth. "And we went out the very next night. It was his idea. She wouldn't be able t' lie if we caught her in that part o' town. He wanted t' go burstin' inta the place, actually, but I held him back from goin' that far... if it was mafia, I said, we had t' do this right. Chika — that's his sister's name, sorry, it keeps slippin' out — she'd be in danger if we ran off half-cocked and called attention to her. And we'd be in danger, too. It made us both sick t' wait out there, lettin' her do... whatever she was paid for that night... but I knew it woulda been worse for her if we were any more forceful than that. We waited. Ken-kun was a bundle o' nerves..."</p><p>Kyo flinched, and the hands that were folded stoically over her chest sank to her belly, hugging her elbows instead. It was like watching her fade out of a masculine facade of toughness into a classic show of feminine vulnerability. Shiho slid over, moving a little closer to Kyo and picking up the takoyaki so she could move it to her other side, clearing the space between.</p><p>"I'm guessing you didn't have a chance to talk her out of it," Shiho murmured. "What happened, Kyo?"</p><p>"They tell me it was one o' them psychotic breakdown episodes," Kyo said stiffly, misery bleeding through in spite of her attempts to keep her voice devoid of emotion. Shiho recognized the statement as the very one Kyo had begun the story with. "A cop happened t' be patrollin' the area that night. He spotted us, and well, we weren't 'xactly inconspicuous, me and my man... him with his dark skin and red hair, he stuck out as much as I do. That police officer took us for delinquents, and tried t' run us out of that district. We told him, more'n once, that we were waitin' for someone, but he wasn't havin' it. It was just as Chika came 'round the corner, and we were turnin' to meet her... that..."</p><p>Kyo cringed into herself.</p><p>"It all happened so fast. One second the officer was sayin' somethin' like we all better get on home before he took us down to the station. Then he pulled his <em>gun</em> outta nowhere. I dunno why! No one'd made any sudden moves! But he looked, he looked like he was havin' some kinda seizure, with drool leakin' out of his mouth, I think maybe tears out of his eyes... it was hard t' tell, it was dark, and that made it creepy lookin', like little trails o' black slime. His eyes were all wide and crazy. He was swinging the gun from one of us t' the other, and all we could do was hold our hands up, tell him we were gonna do what he said and go home..."</p><p>Shiho understood. She inched over to Kyo's side and gingerly put her arm around Kyo's shoulder, which was stiff and tense.</p><p>She quietly asked, "He shot Kenshin?"</p><p>Kyo nodded.</p><p>"Right in the face," she whispered. "Right in the goddamn face. No cop, no commissioner, no disciplinary investigation or courthouse judge coulda interpreted it as anythin' but cold-blooded murder. I don't know what happened, exactly, after that. I just know that the next thing I remember, Ken was on the ground, bleedin' from his head, Chika was next to him, screaming for someone to call an ambulance. People, women mostly, were rushin' out, some of 'em prostitutes from the brothels right around the corner. The cop was down, and I was punchin' him, punchin' and punchin' and yellin' and then someone, one o' the prostitutes I think, had jumped on me from behind and was pullin' me away. I think it was good she did. I mighta kept swingin' til he died, otherwise."</p><p>Kyo tilted her head back again, unfolding her hands and holding them both up in front of her face.</p><p>"The cops took all four of us away after that. It wasn't fun, answerin' questions. Their first assumption was that we'd jumped the cop and he'd shot in self-defense. Lucky for us, there was unexpected help. Some teenage detective, Akechi or whatever his face was."</p><p>Shiho blinked. "Goro Akechi?" she asked.</p><p>Kyo shook her head. "I dunno, I never asked and it's one o' the only times I can't be sure I'm rememberin' a conversation," she mumbled. "Wasn't exactly right in the head at the time. He asked me some questions, though, and seemed t' believe my story. It was him who convinced Chika t' report her activities t' the cops and tell them the real reason me and her brother were there. He made some sorta deal with her, t' get her and her dad into protective custody. The last I saw of her after that was her explainin' it all t'me. She wasn't nice about it. I think she blames..."</p><p>Kyo fell silent, trailing off before she could voice the suspicion. Then drew in a shallow breath, and added:</p><p>"I was never told about his funeral. They musta had one, but no one told me when or where. So... that's where it ended."</p><p>Shiho pulled Kyo closer, but Kyo didn't seem like she was in the mood for any sort of comforting hug; she pulled away and angled her back toward Shiho, sliding over to the edge of the bench.</p><p>"So, yeah, my boyfriend was the victim o' the Tobita Shinchi police brutality mess that was in the news last year," Kyo said bitterly.</p><p>Shiho gasped. Oh. <em>Oh!</em> Tobita Shinchi. Shiho had never heard of the place, but she had thought it sounded familiar.</p><p>Yes, she remembered it now. A huge scandal involving the Osaka police department. One of their officers being convicted of murdering a minor. She remembered everyone from politicians to police officers to the same Goro Akechi she'd just asked Kyo about (who hadn't yet been saddled with his "Detective Prince" celebrity moniker back then) weighing in on the tragedy, and on several other indiscretions by Kansai-region law enforcers over the course of the year before that. There had been controversy, drama, apologies, resignations, new leadership stepping up and declaring that the department would change for the better...</p><p>It had been followed by a successful raid on a red-light district business that had gone too far, and the arrest of several small-time crime bosses. Shiho had never connected the two incidents in her mind before... they had just been news stories she'd seen on one of Tokyo's large screens while hanging out with Ann one day... they had talked briefly about how horrible it was, but at least the perpetrators were being brought to justice, and then they had put it out of their minds and moved on, the same as everyone else on that street.</p><p>To think that someone who'd suffered in an incident like that so far away would have drifted into Shiho's life like this now. She hadn't even entertained the possibility that her world and the victims of such a tragedy would ever touch. It had all just seemed so far away until now.</p><p>"I'm so, so sorry," Shiho whispered. "It must have been... I can't even imagine what it must have been like, for that to happen right in front of you..."</p><p>"Well, good," Kyo mumbled, still not looking at her. "The fewer people who can imagine it, the better. Shit like that's best kept in movie theaters, where none of it fucking matters t' anyone."</p><p>She turned around and looked at Shiho again. The look in Kyo's eyes was hollow, empty of emotion.</p><p>"Dad and mom wanted to move me away from Osaka when they found out about how close a brush I'd had with the mafia in the middle of all that," Kyo said. "But my dad refused t' pick up and leave, himself. He had a good job and didn't want me ruinin' it for him. He was all for shippin' me off t' live in some high school dorm half the damn country away, t' get me outta their hair, I guess, me bein' a pain in the ass like I am. But mom wasn't havin' it. She wanted us all t' move as a family. Dad told her if she wanted t' move, she'd be movin' without him. I guess he expected her t' fold, but... well, he'd given her the choice between her daughter and her husband, and I guess my mom's as stupid in the head as I am..."</p><p>Kyo tapped her temple with a finger, a watery smile surfacing on her face.</p><p>"'Cause she chose me. Divorced my dad, packed up, and got in touch with her parents. Two months or so ago, we settled into an apartment in Yongen-Jaya. And the rest's history."</p><p>Shiho forced a smile of her own. "I guess you weren't as alone as you thought, if she chose you over him..."</p><p>Kyo shrugged, bringing her hands up to her eyes and pressing the heels of them into the sockets.</p><p>"I guess I wasn't," she admitted. "Been thinkin' about that a lot, lately. There was a scary few weeks there, where I honestly thought... where I thought I was gonna be carted off t' Okinawa t' live with some stick-up-the-butt relatives o' my dad's who'd never care about me, and that'd be where I spent the rest o' my time 'til I could make my own way. Mom really... she really surprised me. And now I know even the shit that started me on all this crap was shit I was wrong about. Some nights I don't even know who I am anymore."</p><p>She lowered her hands, revealing that deadpan look of exasperation that Shiho had seen on her face before, though it was directed at the public street at large, rather than to her. Or maybe it was self-directed, Shiho thought.</p><p>"That prolly don't make any sense," Kyo said dully. "Forget I mentioned it."</p><p>"No, I think I get it. Your whole life's been made to look different now," Shiho said, gently laying a hand on Kyo's arm. "You've had to ask yourself questions you thought you had answers to, and it's been like you're trying to do all your growing up all over again... am I wrong?"</p><p>Kyo glanced sharply at her, sidelong; the spark of perception in her her eyes almost made Shiho withdraw her hand.</p><p>"Sounds like you've been there yourself," Kyo said quietly. "Because o' Kamoshida?"</p><p>Shiho hesitated, then nodded. "But I think I might've just gone from having wrong answers to... worse answers," she admitted. "So I don't know. I think I'll be asking myself all those questions again soon."</p><p>"Third time's the charm?" Kyo suggested with a smile.</p><p>"...Yeah," Shiho said. Kyo nodded, and went digging in her pocket for her phone.</p><p>Sensing the end of their conversation, Shiho moved back to her previous spot on the bench, setting the remaining takoyaki on her knees and picking up her drink. As she ate, she saw that Kyo was texting on her phone... and that the wallpaper was quite a voluptuous anime devil-girl with hair almost the same shade Kyo had, though maybe it was a little bluer-looking. The cleavage she displayed was... impossible.</p><p>She leaned over, staring at it incredulously.</p><p>"I thought you said you were straight," said Shiho, pointing at it. Kyo laughed.</p><p>"Doesn't mean I don't get a kick outta the power fantasy," she snickered, eyes twinkling with mischief as she looked back at Shiho. She frowned, though, looking down at her phone. "Looks like Ryuji-kun's had t' change his plans. He had t' deal with somethin' for his mom. Says he'll meet me in Ogikubo for a late dinner if I don't mind bein' out late, though..."</p><p>Kyo trailed off, and then narrowed her eyes at the screen. Shiho thought that maybe Sakamoto had made some kind of off-color comment, and was quite surprised when Kyo blushed a bit at whatever she was reading, then tapped out a quick response, spluttering out:</p><p>"He says his mom wants t' meet me! Oh, Jesus Christ, he actually asked permission t' be out late?! I thought he looked like the type who had a shitty home life or somethin'! Shit, shit! What do I do, what do I do?! One look at me and any self-respectin' mom would have an aneurysm! What do I do?! Shiho, you know how t' deal with moms, right?! Tell me you know how to deal with moms!"</p><p>Kyo had turned sharply in her direction, panicked and frazzled in a way that was jarringly girlish: it hadn't been a look Shiho would have imagined on her even three seconds before it happened. Shiho couldn't help it: she giggled, and held up the container of takoyaki, which still had good portion left to consume.</p><p>"Well, since you have time now," she said, "what you should do is help me finish this. I don't like wasting food, you know."</p><p>Kyo looked down at the takoyaki, then let out a small laugh of her own.</p><p>"Guess I do have time now," Kyo said, snatching her mini-chopsticks back up and snagging a fifth takoyaki ball with them. "Oh, and by the way, go ahead and let Kamoshida know I'm gonna be attendin' tryouts like he wanted..."</p><p>Shiho almost spilled the remaining takoyaki all over the sidewalk.</p><p>"<em>What?!</em>"</p><p>Kyo was giving her that deadpan look directly now, when Shiho whipped her head around to look. Munching on her octopus snack, she licked her fingers clean before answering.</p><p>"'Course I am, stupid," she said. "After everythin' that happened today, you think I'm lettin' you deal with him on your own?"</p><p>"But... that's crazy talk," Shiho said dazedly, slowly shaking her head. "You can't be thinking of putting yourself in that position for me."</p><p>She tightened her jaw and shook her head again, this time more firmly.</p><p>"You <em>shouldn't</em> be thinking of putting yourself in that position for me," she said. "Just don't. I can take care of myself. I know what he really thinks of my talents, now. He won't kick me off the team, so if I just call his bluff, the worst he can do is hit me, and—!"</p><p>"Shiho."</p><p>Kyo was giving her that deadpan stare again, more fixedly. Shiho felt some of her makeshift confidence crumble, if only from the force with which Kyo's eyes were insisting that she was the one talking crazy now. Kyo leaned in close, her stare becoming a glare, and when she spoke next, it was through her teeth.</p><p>"<em>You're not the only one sittin' on this bench who feels like she'd die if she lets her friend make the wrong choice here,</em>" Kyo whispered, almost growled. "Don't get so wrapped up in what you think you can live with that you go and forget I <em>also</em> need t' look at my own face in the mirror every mornin', get me?"</p><p>Shiho deflated completely. She felt half-nonplussed, but the other half of her... she somehow understood what Kyo was saying. If their positions had been completely reversed, if they had swapped bodies and it had been her, Shiho, in Kyo's place: talking to someone that she'd just found out had been coerced into bribing a school sports coach with sexual favors, and that said coach had every intention of continuing to exploit her, and others, she would...</p><p>...what? What exactly would she do?</p><p>She didn't know. But she knew how she felt about the temptation to keep her head down and pretend she'd never found out. And that was before she considered any of the weird supernatural stuff that had happened to catalyze this talk between them, their sharing of secrets. Their friendship.</p><p>Yes. What else could she call it? She had told Kyo everything. She had shared her worst, most terrible memories with Kyo. Kyo, in turn, had shared the same with Shiho — as much to even the playing field between them as anything else, Shiho recognized. But even so, Shiho knew that she couldn't forgive herself if Kyo got into a bad situation on her account, so...!</p><p>"Please, just walk away," Shiho whispered, shaking her head again. "I promise, I won't let him do anything else."</p><p>"Just a moment ago you were talkin' like it'd be acceptable if he 'the worst he can do' is hit ya," Kyo said blandly. "Except it's not, not really. You're not his only victim. The other girls on the team are. The boys on the other team are. Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, physical abuse, assault disguised as self-defense."</p><p>Shiho blinked, then her eyes widened.</p><p>"Wait," Shiho whispered. "You said something before. That you were already planning to join the team."</p><p>It clicked. She sucked in a breath.</p><p>"That you already knew Kamoshida was a, what, a bit of a scumbag? You meant what happened with the Track Team. That was something he did on purpose?"</p><p>Kyo nodded, her eyes narrowing with contempt, directed at a man who was not present for those eyes to turn to.</p><p>"It's bigger than me, bigger than you," Kyo said slowly. "So don't you dare think I'm puttin' myself in a bad spot just for <em>you</em>. All you did, really, was make me aware o' just how dangerous the situation was before I dived headfirst into it on my own. So really, if anythin'... you've made it so it's less likely I'll be hurt, and more likely that I can set the pace if I am."</p><p>Shiho turned her eyes forward, considering this.</p><p>Kyo's voice came at her very close to her ear, in a whisper:</p><p>"Just leave <em>me</em> t' me. Focus on stayin' safe. And don't tell Takamaki any o' this yet."</p><p>Shiho flinched. Ann. That was another thing she needed to deal with. Ann was trying to help her, by making a deal with Kamoshida. But Kamoshida would do to Ann what he was doing to Shiho. He would demand more, and more, and Ann would be pressured to give it, until Kamoshida had all the things Ann had imagined she could get away with not giving him. She had to warn Ann. Had to. But...</p><p>"If Takamaki suddenly loses interest, he'll know who told her," Kyo whispered. "He'll lash out. First, give it a few days. Then we'll talk t' her together."</p><p>Shiho turned to look at Kyo. "Together?" Shiho asked. "Why? You barely know..."</p><p>Kyo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I barely know her," she said. "But I think I know how a guy like Kamoshida'll be thinkin'. He's gonna underestimate her, and he's gonna think he has enough mojo t' make her his willin' lover instead of a victim. Probably thinks all women'll put out for whoever can do enough for 'em to be worth their while. So he's gonna stick t' dating her for now. A guy like him wouldn't've been able t' keep this up long if he was as much a mustache-twirlin' dumbass as yellow-eyes back in the castle, so I think this is a good bet. So she'll <em>probably</em> be safe, for now... even if it's stressful on her end. We wait a bit. I get on the team. Once I'm there and we can get a handle on how Kamoshida's actin', we talk t' Takamaki and form some kinda solid plan o' action."</p><p>Shiho swallowed a dry lump, and slowly picked up another takoyaki ball.</p><p>"Right, I... I think I follow you," she murmured, blowing on it in spite of it not being very hot anymore. "How much... do you think... we'll need to tell Ann?"</p><p>"You know her better'n I do," Kyo said gently. "You can decide how much t' tell. I think, though, I think you should be honest with her. But we should convince her t' figure out a way t' distance herself from Kamoshida without tippin' him off that it was you who convinced her t' do it."</p><p>Shiho bit her lip. "She'll be safe for a while," she murmured. "You're sure? He wouldn't force himself on her?"</p><p>Kyo shook her head. "No one can be sure, but I think he's more likely t' take his frustrations out on other girls if progress is slow," Kyo said. "And if I'm on the team..."</p><p>Shiho looked up sharply. Kyo continued with clinical detachment, punctuated by a smirk:</p><p>"Well, if he hates me as much as that other-Kamoshida seemed to, I can maybe provoke him inta directin' that frustration my way."</p><p>The second-year's lips tightened, but Kyo looked back without any sign of discomfort.</p><p>"You think I'm going to let you do that? I'd rather he take it out on me!" Shiho hissed, pointing a finger in Kyo's face (the same hand that still held takoyaki, which ruined the effect a bit). "You're way too casual about putting yourself at risk of, of..."</p><p>"Abuse, harassment... rape?" Kyo listed off disinterestedly. "If he tries anythin' on me and I expect it, I can be ready. If he goes overboard on me t' the point where my physical state counts as evidence, my mom's one o' the ones who'd listen."</p><p>Shiho's heart skipped a beat. It was terrifying, the images that put in her head. She pulled back her hand to slap Kyo, but Kyo just pointed to it and said:</p><p>"You just said ya don't like wastin' food."</p><p>Letting out a frustrated growl, she stuffed the takoyaki into her mouth and looked away, trying to form some kind of argument that would get through to the green-haired idiot beside her. As she did, though, she felt something... rubbing at her back? Kyo's hand. She looked back again: Kyo was smiling at her apologetically now.</p><p>"I'm only tellin' ya my intentions so you won't go misunderstandin' what I'm up to," Kyo said softly. "Just now, you were talkin' like you'd do the same. It's admirable t' be all self-sacrificin', but you've had more'n enough time in the wringer. Just, share the load, okay? Neither of us has t' deal with this alone."</p><p>Shiho swallowed, and sighed. "...I still think you're crazy," she said. "You've never been in my position. You can't know what you're thinking of provoking. This isn't a book, or a movie, or one of... or one of those freaky hentai cartoons you seem to like!"</p><p>Kyo's eyebrows went up again, this time accompanied by a tightening of her jaw.</p><p>Shiho stared at her as stoically as she could, but the uncomfortable awkwardness of that last example was a bit hard for even her to keep a straight face about. Kyo, however, just lifted her phone, displaying that suggestive wallpaper which Shiho had been thinking of when she'd added that last part.</p><p>"It's from a fightin' game, actually," Kyo said calmly, though with a slight edge that told Shiho she'd gone a little too far. "Not that I'll deny I've indulged in some not-completely-innocent forms of entertainment here and there, but please don't patronize me like that. I'm a woman, too. Might not've been on the receivin' end, but I know what it's like t' always be second-guessin' men's intentions toward me. And I'm not about t' confuse reality for porn. Kinda thought you'd understand that, after listenin' to that story o' mine."</p><p>Shiho winced. Okay, that had been the wrong approach. Now she'd just gone and made Kyo think she was judging her and jumping to conclusions, but by now it was obvious even only after a few hours that Kyo was smarter than that, smarter than she looked and smarter than her attitude suggested. But she had to try another again. She had to, had to, had to say something, something to make Kyo rethink this, to make her back away, stop her from...</p><p>Kyo lifted a hand and let it come to rest on top of Shiho's head, leaving her utterly blank-faced and wrong-footed. Around Kyo's arm, she could see Kyo smiling gratefully at her.</p><p>"You're the first person who's really cared about me other'n my mom and Kenshin, y'know," said Kyo. "So I know you didn't mean anythin' by it. But please, trust me t' know my limits. I may not have experience with that kinda thing, but I have other experience. Experience fightin', for one thing. If Kamoshida really goes too far, I'm confident I could get myself out of a bad spot. Can you say the same?"</p><p>Shiho had to admit, no, she couldn't. She shook her head with Kyo's hand still resting on it, and knew her face made her displeasure and worry obvious. Kyo tousled her hair almost like she were a child and removed the hand.</p><p>"Right," Kyo said. "You're a volleyball player, not a martial artist. So let's work on that for now, okay? I'll teach you a thing or two about defendin' yourself. That way, if Kamoshida thinks he can try anythin' again, you've got options. In the meantime, he can deal with me, who has those options already."</p><p>"I'm not letting you deal with him alone," Shiho insisted, at which point Kyo laughed, and gave her another grateful smile.</p><p>"I'd hope not," Kyo said. "You're the one with the magic powers. Speakin' of which, can you...?"</p><p>Kyo trailed off skeptically, so Shiho shook her head.</p><p>"No. It stopped working after we got out of that castle," she sighed, looking forlornly to her knees. "Now I'm just the same ordinary girl I always was."</p><p>"Interestin'," Kyo murmured. "Wonder why you got that power and I didn't, though. I was gonna ask about it, but... let's just exchange numbers and talk about it later. I think I went a bit overboard by springin' my schemes on ya right after all this heavy talk."</p><p>Shiho snorted. "I'm still not happy with what you're thinking," she said.</p><p>"Hey, it ain't exactly my idea of a fun school year, either. But let's leave it here for now. You still look beat, y'know."</p><p>Kyo was right. Shiho felt like she could flop face-first onto her bed and just sleep for a week. Whatever kind of exertion she'd subjected herself to by using that power for so long, it felt like she'd be feeling it for a couple of days. Yeah. They could talk about this later. Even if Shiho didn't like what Kyo had in mind, it wasn't until Wednesday that she would even be able to attend tryouts in the first place. Maybe Shiho could figure out a better argument by then, or maybe Kyo would still go through with it, and...</p><p>...and honestly, if Shiho looked inside herself, she couldn't deny that having Kyo close by was something that would make her feel safer. That having Kyo on her side against Kamoshida would make her feel better about their odds of... of what? Exposing him for what he was? No, that was crazy. There was nothing a couple of high school girls could do. Anything they tried would just get them in a mountain of trouble. But, but...</p><p>Shiho felt terrible thinking this, but if Kyo was there with her, maybe... maybe she could just endure it and stand up to Kamoshida, refuse to let him take things as far as he had any longer. Maybe... and...</p><p>She closed her eyes. She couldn't think. It was all so confusing and the buzzing in her head was back. She needed sleep. Then she could think...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>The two girls exchanged numbers and walked back to the station together in silence. Normally, Shiho would have jumped right into small talk, but she couldn't think of any. She got the feeling that Kyo was the same kind of conversationalist, but was restraining herself because she sensed the mood. If so, Shiho was grateful. But she wanted to talk to Kyo more anyway, tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.</p><p>Before they parted ways at Shibuya Station, Shiho asked if Kyo wouldn't mind having lunch with her and Ann. Kyo asked if she could invite Ryuji and a female classmate, too. Shiho smiled and expressed that old cliché affirmation: the more, the merrier! They said their goodbyes after that and the rest of the trip home passed by in a blur of routine. Shiho's mother was still at work when she got back, so she undressed, showered, and went straight to bed.</p><p>At four in the morning, she awoke to find her phone blinking a notification light at her on its charger. It hadn't made a sound, so she must have woken up prematurely because of her early bedtime. Groggily, she picked it up and clicked it on, pre-emptively closing her eyes so that the glare of the screen wouldn't blind her in the darkness of her bedroom. She opened them a few seconds later, first a crack and then a little more, letting her eyes adjust to the light.</p><p>It was a text message from Kyo. Short, simple, to the point. It seemed to have been sent a little over five minutes before Shiho had woken up:</p><p><strong>- KYO -<br/>(( First date, second base! Ba-ZING. Still got it. </strong> <strong>¡( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و! ))</strong></p><p>Shiho blinked, her eyes darting between the message and the time stamp. Her slow brain clicked into motion, and she found herself pushing up into a sitting position, grogginess fading away. What had Kyo said about those baseball metaphors? Something about second base being touching above the waist? Touching above the...</p><p>She tapped out a response, suddenly unable to contain her curiosity in spite of an instinctive urge to chide Kyo for being reckless with that Ryuji boy.</p><p><strong>- SHIHO -<br/></strong> <strong>(( When you say "second base," do you mean he got to second base, or you got to second base? ))<br/></strong> <strong>- KYO -<br/></strong> <strong>(( </strong> <strong>( *∵* ) Well there's a reason I can't sleep... he kinda got me going a little... ))</strong></p><p>Shiho needed almost half a minute to parse that response, which came almost as soon as Shiho sent a message. When she did, she was torn between horrified blushing and a giggling fit she could barely silence even with both hands clamped over her mouth. Between this and her slow uptake, it took her almost a minute and a half to respond.</p><p><strong>- SHIHO -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Too much information! ))</strong></p><p>Kyo took almost a minute to respond this time, even though it had seemed like she was actively typing at her phone. Shiho was just about to text again when the answer came:</p><p><strong>- KYO -<br/></strong> <strong>(( I guess it was, sorry. ))</strong></p><p>Shiho had been half-kidding, and wondered if Kyo had understood that... maybe she should have thrown in an emoticon of her own to make it clear... a second message popped while she was wondering if she should clarify, then a third right after. Shiho feel a bit guilty as she read them:</p><p><strong>(( Never had a girl pal I could talk about this stuff with, so I guess I went overboard ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( I mean, you know... most all of my friends were just fuck buddies, so... ))</strong></p><p>Shiho had to blink at that. All of her friends had been...?</p><p><strong>(( wait shit that's definitely tmi ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( i'm bad at this sorry ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( forget i said anything ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( sorry i woke you up i'll just see you at lunch ))</strong></p><p>Sitting on her bed half a city away from Kyo, Shiho felt almost mesmerized as texts continued to pop on her SMS app. Shiho saw, in her head, the image of a frazzled, uncomfortable girl fumbling with a phone in her bedroom, green hair all messed up from tossing and turning in bed in all night, probably with nothing more pajama-like than shorts and a tee thrown on, because Shiho couldn't picture Kyo in any sort of nightdress. The image was a stark contrast to the confident girl she'd spoken to the previous day, with her grinning and scheming and bluffing...</p><p>Before Shiho knew what she was doing, she'd closed the text app and tapped the Call icon, navigating to Kyo's number. She hesitated for only a moment, wondering if this was the right move to make, before tapping the green Call button at the bottom-middle. She lay back down on her pillow and listened to the ringing sound... once... twice... three times...</p><p>Then, the ringing cut off. Kyo had picked up.</p><p><em>"Oh, uh... wasn't expectin' you to call,"</em> Kyo said, her voice conveying a laugh that sounded artificial even over the phone. <em>"Sorry about that, sorry, sorry! I get a bit silly in the head when I'm tired and I sorta woke up outta nowhere, and..."</em></p><p>Shiho couldn't help but smile in sympathy at the earnestness of Kyo's stumbling apologies. But she hadn't called to tell Kyo off for being too open about her love life. Instead she said:</p><p>"So? Rating out of ten?"</p><p>Kyo's silence sounded baffled. Weird how silence could have sounds like that.</p><p>
  <em>"Rating out o'...?"</em>
</p><p>"How good was he with his hands?" Shiho prompted. It wasn't the most comfortable topic in the world, but they were two girls talking about consensual experimenting, and she would have been lying if she said she wasn't curious what it was like when it was someone nice and it wasn't being forced on someone... and Kyo really did seem to want to talk about it with someone, and who else did she have but Shiho? Maybe if she rolled with it, it wouldn't be so weird.</p><p>Kyo didn't answer right away. Shiho thought her reply might have broken Kyo's brain. But then Kyo began in a rush:</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, he needs practice, definitely still a six, you know? But he's got potential, I'll say that. I know how t' tell when they're more concerned about how it feels for me than how it feels for them! Oh, but before that we had dinner, and I asked about his mom. She got sick and he was runnin' errands, so we didn't get t' go to the arcade like we'd planned, but... he's so sweet and adorable when he talks about her, I just couldn't help myself after! I kinda maybe suggested we go t' Inokashira Park for a stroll and found us a private little corner t' give him a kiss, and mighta guided his hands a little without thinkin', and one thing led to another, and..."</em>
</p><p>Shiho lay there with her phone in her ear, listening to Kyo as she transitioned from tentative enthusiasm to outright gushing. For someone who put up such a tough front in person, Shiho thought, she had the stereotypical chatty girlish thing going when her guard was down. Had Kyo really never had any girls to share girl-talk with? How long had she had to keep things like this to herself when it was obvious she was a whistling kettle ready to overflow with steam and boiling water at any second?</p><p>
  <em>"...I'm wonderin' if I moved a little fast, though, d'ya think I moved a little fast? I wasn't really thinkin', so..."</em>
</p><p>Chatty gushing turned to nerves, the same kind she had glimpsed at the takoyaki stand when Kyo had panicked at the prospect of meeting Ryuji's mother. Shiho smiled, shaking her head at the ceiling of her room.</p><p>"First day of school, you're already letting some guy you just met feel you up," Shiho said flatly, but with teasing humor taking some of the edge off. "And you're telling all this to a girl you just met the same day... yeah, I'd say you moved a little fast."</p><p>Kyo laughed, nervously, audibly backpedaling. <em>"Uh, uh... yeah, point. Sorry, I just, uh..."</em></p><p>"Relax. I'm kidding," Shiho said patiently. She kept her voice down, of course. Her mother was probably sleeping.</p><p>
  <em>"Oh."</em>
</p><p>"I do think you might be moving a bit fast with Sakamoto-kun. Are you sure you want that kind of physical..." Pause. "...relationship, already? I know you said you have a bit of an addiction..."</p><p><em>"I, uh..."</em> There was another pause. <em>"Ah, it was a spur o' the moment thing... I didn't wanna give you the wrong idea, I </em><em>— well... it's not like I only care about..."</em></p><p>"I'm not judging," Shiho said softly. "You can tell me these things, if you want. We might have just met, but I don't mind. I just want you to be sure you're thinking things through."</p><p>Another pause.</p><p><em>"I-I guess we did tell each other a lot today,"</em> Kyo said, laughing nervously again. <em>"I just, I just wanted to tell someone, and my mom's too embarrassin' and she'd probably get all worried about me bein' responsible, and, and... andyouweretheonlypersonIcouldthinkofsorry."</em></p><p>Shiho giggled. "Don't worry about it," she said, barely having been able to decipher Kyo's babbling at the end. She felt her cheeks heat up a little. "Just, um. In exchange...?"</p><p><em>"Oh, sure. What d'ya need?"</em> Kyo said, suddenly sounding comfortable and casual in spite of not knowing what Shiho was going to ask. It was almost like Kyo was willing to do anything that Shiho requested... to a point where she had far fewer qualms about that than about possibly coming on too strong. It was heartwarming... and weirdly worrying. But Shiho had no real reason to think that, so she pushed ahead, a little flustered.</p><p>"U-um, right," she said. "In exchange, uh... if I ever need advice with boys...?"</p><p><em>"...I'm a bit lost when it comes t' the relationship part o' relationships,"</em> Kyo admitted. <em>"I could tell ya loads about sex and makin' out and all, but I'm not sure I'd be much help with anythin' else. I mean, Ryuji-kun's a pretty straightforward guy... he's probably as bad with girls as I am with boys, but I think we might just cancel each other out that way. I don't think my approach'd work so well with someone else, though."</em></p><p>Shiho stared at the ceiling, breathed in, swallowed a dry lump, and forced herself to admit what she'd been thinking:</p><p>"That's, um... yeah, that's what I was thinking," she said meekly.</p><p>
  <em>"...Eh?"</em>
</p><p>"That if I have questions about that stuff, s-sex and making out and... well, maybe I could ask you those with a straight face," Shiho said, determinedly trying to keep her face straight even as she suggested it.</p><p>Kyo was silent again. Then, in a surprisingly understanding tone:</p><p>
  <em>"Oh! Okay. Yeah, I'll help you however I can. There a guy you're thinkin' of?"</em>
</p><p>Shiho breathed out a sigh, and smiled. If she had tried to ask Ann about any of that, Ann would probably get all flustered and blushy and then the teasing would happen, and besides that, if she asked Ann or anyone else, or even her mother (oh God, how awkward would that be?) there would be the thought of Kamoshida hanging over her and maybe it would just be easier to talk to someone who already knew about all that so she just didn't have to think about it.</p><p>"No, no one in particular," Shiho said. "I just thought I'd ask while it was on my mind."</p><p>Another pause, and Shiho felt a nervous tingle, as if Kyo were narrowing her eyes at her from across the city and smirking.</p><p><em>"...Say no more," </em>Kyo said without any hint of that expression in her tone. She couldn't help it, she breathed a sigh of relief. Kyo must have heard it, because she laughed softly. <em>"Y'know, I still remember what it was like figurin' that shit out on my own 'cause I thought I couldn't ask anyone about it without 'em losin' their shit at me."</em></p><p>"How did you learn?" Shiho asked, before giving herself a chance to think about it. Kyo's snort on the other end of the line told her that she probably shouldn't have asked.</p><p><em>"A whole lotta awkward, that's how,"</em> Kyo answered sagely. <em>"I'm not gonna say more'n that. It's, uh... when you're just startin' out... well... let's just say, there's a very good reason that movies and stuff skip ahead t' the part where people know what they're doin'."</em></p><p>Shiho realized abruptly that if she didn't change the subject, her morbid fascination with this statement would take the conversation down a path she wasn't yet ready to follow, so she decided that maybe she'd tested those waters just a little too much for one phone call. She allowed herself a nervous laugh and steered things another way.</p><p>"Okay, thanks. So, you said you were going for ramen, right? How was it?"</p><p>
  <em>"Oooh, Ogikubo's better'n I thought it'd be and Ryuji-kun definitely knew what shop t' take a glutton like me! Heh, I'll admit, I'm more of a beef bowl kinda girl, but when ramen's made right, it's a hell of a refreshin' thing... he knows his shit, too. I think I learned a little about cookin' the stuff at home just by talkin' with him."</em>
</p><p>From there, the conversation turned to talk of food, then when Kyo lamented again the scrapped plans for a trip to the arcade, Shiho poked her for information about video games, which went some interesting places that Shiho hadn't expected. It seemed Kyo was a fan of quite a lot of different kinds of games. Maybe (Kyo suggested) after tryouts on Wednesday, the two of them could hang out at Kyo's place and she could show Shiho some... Shiho had only tried a few with Ann, but Kyo made a good case for trying out a few other genres and seeing if any of them did something for her that games at the arcade hadn't.</p><p>When Shiho hung up the phone and looked at her alarm clock, she realized that it was almost time to get ready for breakfast and school. They'd been talking for a long time.</p><p>...It felt like her life had turned upside-down. Hadn't it been only half a day ago that she had been strong-armed by Kamoshida into trying to lure this girl into joining his team? And now they were sharing private struggles with each other... having a two-hour phone call in the early morning hours before a school day... talking about boys... making plans to hang out and play video games...</p><p><em>I wonder if Ann would want to hang out with us, too,</em> Shiho thought, closing her eyes. <em>She likes games, so...?</em></p><p>Shiho faded out, then, drifting briefly to sleep. When her alarm beeped, a little less than half an hour later, Shiho smiled before she opened her eyes. She swung her feet over the side of the bed, sitting up. She felt refreshed, in a way she hardly ever did when she rolled out of bed in the mornings anymore. She almost felt like the morning person she had been before things had gotten bad at practice.</p><p>Shiho stood, stretched, and went about her morning motions as usual, her thoughts occupied with the day to come, on texting Ann to let her know she wanted the two of them to hang out with Kyo and her boyfriend at lunch later. She didn't notice it until she was out the door — but the picture on her wall didn't draw her eyes, not even once. She made it through her morning shower, changing her clothes, applying make-up, and breakfast, all without glancing at it once.</p><p>It wasn't until she was halfway down the street that a strange, swooping sense of satisfaction, of victory, filled her heart. No, not exactly just that. Approval. It felt like the presence that had awoken, the spirit-thing calling itself Tess, who had claimed to be Shiho herself, was telling her without words that it was proud of her.</p><p>Ann met her at the station this time. Shiho had less trouble than usual returning her best friend's bright smile. After that, the interrogation began: Ann wanted to know why Shiho had taken so quickly to their senpai that they were suddenly making lunch dates. Shiho (feeling a bit mischievous) decided to share some of the details of Kyo's date the previous night. Nothing about "second base," of course. But the part about Ryuji apparently being sweet and adorable when he talked about his mother, that was something she thought Ann would find very interesting, and indeed Ann found it <em>very</em> interesting.</p><p>Talking to Ann was different than talking to Kyo, Shiho decided as they stepped off their first train and onto the Shibuya Station platform, wading through the crowds toward where the Aoyoma-Itchome trains stopped. But she remembered a time when it hadn't been so different. Ann had always been unapologetically, unabashedly a girl, but she was more than just that. She was also confident, relaxing to speak to, always smiling... but that hadn't always been the case. When they had first become friends, when Ann had been alone, it had been hard to break the ice and really, if Shiho hadn't decided to tease her about her paintings on a whim...</p><p>Kyo wasn't so different from the way Ann had been. Alone, not many friends, far from introverted, but <em>guarded</em>. She wasn't so different from Shiho, either, though, was she? Shiho hadn't had many real friends, either. Oh, she was on good terms with the girls on the volleyball team, but she only really felt comfortable around Ann. And, and besides that... all she had was volleyball. The only thing she could see herself maybe doing in the future was volleyball. Her mother had been so proud of her when she'd shown her skills at the end of last year, and...</p><p>...no, that wasn't the main thing.</p><p>The only thing Shiho herself felt like she was good at was volleyball. The rest of what she kept thinking about, the prospect of a scholarship and maybe a career, it was all just kind of a flimsy smokescreen for why she was clinging to it so stubbornly, excuses born out of social expectation: the reasons she would give a guidance counselor if asked why she was putting her time and energy into it.</p><p>But the truth was, Shiho really just didn't have anything else to feel good about. Kamoshida had manipulated that, maybe without understanding Shiho's feelings, but it was the memory of how worthless and directionless she had been before, more than anything, that had made her susceptible to it. Even knowing about Kamoshida's vices, she couldn't have brought herself to leave it behind. And now, after what had happened in that castle — after Tess had risen up within her, stoking a fire she hadn't even known was there — Shiho refused to let it go for another reason.</p><p>She absolutely, positively did <em>not</em> want to let that horrible man defeat her. She couldn't bear to let him <em>win</em>. Even if all she could do was endure it until the end of the year and move on to another school, another team, Shiho wanted to come out of this straight-backed and proud. And she would. She <em>would</em>, God damn it.</p><p>"Heeeeey! Shiho! You're lookin' like ya slept well!"</p><p>She turned, smiling, and raised a hand to wave. Ann, surprised, turned with her. There was Kyo, grinning confidently with her bag over her shoulder and the other raised in a lazy wave. Shiho waved her over, her own smile widening as the green-haired girl joined them and asked how their mornings had been. Ann, who'd been halfway through a story of a photoshoot she'd gone to the previous day, tapered off and returned Kyo's greeting, too.</p><p>Shiho felt, then, that she understood the real reason why she felt a kinship with Kyo. It wasn't just that they'd shared so many secrets, or that Kyo had decided to stick close to her, to help with Kamoshida...</p><p>...No. Shiho thought it was just that Kyo'd had the same problem she did. It had come from a different place, of course, but wasn't it kind of the same thing? Kyo had honestly believed for a long time that she was good for only one thing. She'd thought that one thing had been sex, rather than volleyball. It was funny, because in their first conversation, Kyo had related to that without knowing it. She'd said she got the same feeling Shiho did from playing volleyball. That feeling that nothing else in her life mattered for just a little while, that she could lose herself in it.</p><p>Stress relief, or maybe just a fleeting sense of purpose. Shiho might have felt reluctance to liken herself to Kyo a year ago, when she'd been more... naive...</p><p>But now...</p><p>"So what's this Shiho tells me about Ryuji being a mama's boy?" Ann teased, putting her hands on her hips and grinning at Kyo, who blinked and gave Shiho a mock-accusing glare.</p><p>Shiho smiled innocently at that look. It didn't last, though. Kyo snickered and moved in closer, the better to let Ann in on the tamer details of her date without letting her voice carry. She drifted away from the pair of them not long after, when she spotted Ryuji in the crowd, but not before Ann leaned in and whispered something conspiratorially in Kyo's ear, which seemed to amuse Kyo. When Kyo went to talk to her boyfriend, who greeted her with what was probably the biggest and warmest smile Shiho had ever seen on his face since starting at Shujin...</p><p>...she turned to Ann and asked, "What'd you tell her?"</p><p>"Just to remind Ryuji that he still hasn't paid me back for the stuffed dolphin I told you about before," Ann said cheerfully. "The interest on that loan's been really piling up over the years. And I saw this nice handbag at a shop yesterday..."</p><p>Shiho giggled. "You're so mean, Ann. You know Kyo's gonna tease him about it until he tells her what it was for."</p><p>"Serves the jerk right! ...Wow, but he's, like... he looks like he's got it bad."</p><p>Shiho looked to the pair of them, and had to agree. Though Ryuji looked a bit sheepish and embarrassed, probably because Kyo was asking why he would have wanted a stuffed dolphin, he also looked, well, really really comfortable talking to her.</p><p>"Well, they did get to second base," Shiho said thoughtfully, without thinking. "Maybe it brought them closer, after all."</p><p>Ann's scandalized, choking splutter of disbelief was almost, but not quite, smothered by the sound of the approaching train. And so life rolled along, a new school year picking up steam with its second day. Ann wasn't able to look Ryuji in the eye at lunch that day. The other student that Kyo had invited, Makoto Niijima, didn't stick around for the whole lunch break (she had Student Council business to attend to) but did stop by to quickly eat and chat. Ryuji had seemed a little tense at first, but Kyo had been good about breaking the ice. At one point, Haru Okumura wandered by, greeting Kyo and earning an uncomfortable-looking hello for her trouble, but she didn't hang around. Maybe the four of them all hanging out together had been something Haru didn't feel comfortable intruding on.</p><p>After Shiho said her goodbyes and they had all separated to head back to their classrooms, Kyo had caught up with her and Ann on the second floor, asking if she could speak to Ann for a moment. Shiho had waited for her friend, and when they were done, Kyo had waved lazily in farewell and headed back to the first floor stairway to return her own homeroom. When Ann rejoined Shiho, she looked a bit dazed and confused.</p><p>"What did she want?" Shiho asked, as they approached the door to Ann's homeroom.</p><p>"...She... paid me back for Ryuji's dolphin," Ann said distractedly. "It, it was supposed to be a joke... I was just ragging on him, but..."</p><p>Shiho smiled. "I get the feeling that's just the kind of girl Kyo is," she said. "I'll see you later, okay?"</p><p>Ann smiled, and turned to the door. Shiho turned to go.</p><p>"Did you convince her to join the team?" Ann blurted out.</p><p>Shiho froze, eyes widening a fraction before she caught herself and schooled it neutral.</p><p>"No, she kind of just convinced herself," Shiho said, trying to sound casual. But now that she was thinking of volleyball, she couldn't keep her mind away from what she knew Ann was trying to do for her. So she said carefully, "Hey, Ann, do you have plans after school...?"</p><p>"Um, another photoshoot. It's gonna run late," Ann said. "Sorry."</p><p>A photoshoot. Shiho almost would have bought it, but hadn't Ann said something last week about the agency taking it easy for the first couple weeks of school? And now she was saying she had two shoots in a row? Had there even been one the previous afternoon, or had Ann been with Kamoshida after all...?</p><p>"...That's fine," Shiho said mechanically. "Oh, hey, though. Kyo is going to be watching my back at practice..."</p><p>Ann looked at her sharply, doing almost as bad a job at keeping her face neutral as it had felt like Shiho was doing a second before.</p><p>"So you don't have to worry," Shiho said. "I think we can help each other avoid any more injuries, you know? She says she has a good idea of how we can get an edge with Kamoshida's training methods..."</p><p>Ann's eyes widened a fraction. "Wait, are you..." she breathed.</p><p>"I just thought you'd want to know, since you were asking about it before the game last time!" Shiho said, putting on a smile. "You don't need to worry so much about me. Okay? I'm feeling... really good about this year, you know?"</p><p>She waved, and started off for her own class before she could be tempted to say anything else she might regret. It might have been her imagination, but Shiho could feel Ann's eyes on the back of her head as she walked away. It was a battle of willpower not to glance back at her friend and try to figure out if Ann had read more into her words than Shiho had wanted her to. She thought, too late to do anything about it, that it would have been better to talk to Kyo and maybe see if she had an idea of how to warn Ann away from involving herself with Kamoshida without making it obvious. Kyo seemed like she might be kind of good at that kind of thing, but...</p><p>Well, no use crying over spilled milk. Shiho just hoped it would be enough for at least a few days. She wasn't as confident as Kyo had been that Kamoshida wouldn't try anything forceful in that time.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Ann Takamaki did indeed watch Shiho go, watched her until she rounded the corner and passed out of sight. She felt as if she wanted to fall through the floor and just <em>die</em>.</p><p>There was no reason for Shiho to change the topic so abruptly like that. And it had been ages, ages since Shiho had just up and talked about volleyball practice on her own! It only made sense, if, if, if, if...</p><p><em>Oh, God.</em> She closed her eyes and groaned, then turned and forcefully tugged the door open, walking quickly to her desk and sliding into it. She wanted to bury her head in her arms and scream into her blazer sleeve to let the humiliation she felt out.</p><p>Shiho knew. Shiho knew. Kamoshida must have, must have... no, no, no, no!</p><p>
  <em>I can't just stop, though! That split lip, I know she didn't have it when I saw her walk out of practice, but then Mishima called her to his office, and...</em>
</p><p>Ann kept her face determinedly unreadable as she ran through the deduction she'd made before the end of the previous school year. But she couldn't resist shooting a glance at the boy where he sat scrolling with his phone. Yuki Mishima, a member of the boy's team. It had been the injuries she always saw him with in class that had first tipped Ann off to what must be going on. Kyo was joining, too, and would be helping Shiho avoid injuries, though...</p><p>Suddenly, it made sense. Ann took a breath, turning her eyes forward.</p><p>The only answer that made sense was one that Ann couldn't decide to feel scared or relieved about.</p><p>The new girl. Shiho's sudden friendship with Kyo, immediately after Kyo had gotten together with Ryuji Sakamoto, the boy who'd allegedly assaulted Kamoshida. What if, what if... what if the Track Team had been abused, too? What if...</p><p>Sadayo Kawakami stepped into the room and called everyone to attention. Mechanically, Ann stood up straight with the rest of the class and then sat back down when told. As relative silence fell, Ann brushed her fingers through the ponytail on her left side, thinking.</p><p>Kyo was new. She couldn't know that much about Kamoshida already. And yet...</p><p>
  <em>She kind of convinced herself... Hey, Ann, do you have plans after school?</em>
</p><p>If Ann didn't know any better, it had sounded like the subject of Kyo joining the team had been what prompted Shiho to try... what, warning her?</p><p>Wouldn't it have been more like Shiho to just take her aside in private and try to get the truth out of her directly?</p><p>...Maybe, yes. Maybe it would be. But maybe Shiho wasn't telling her to stop. Maybe, maybe she was... just saying...</p><p>Saying what?</p><p>A vibrating buzz from the phone in her blazer pocket: Ann jumped. A quick look at the teacher told her that Kawakami was looking over a list of post-lunch announcements on the podium, so she slipped her phone out and glanced at it under the desk. A text from an unknown number... oh, it was...?</p><p><strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Shiho wasn't exactly subtle back there... ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( She's right, though. I won't let him touch her. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( If Kamoshida asks for anything you're uncomfortable with, blow him off. ))</strong></p><p>Ann's heart was pounding. She looked up at Kawakami. The teacher wasn't looking. Quickly, she tapped out a message under the desk:</p><p><strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Morinaga-san? ))<br/>- unknown number -<br/>(( Were you expecting maybe Sailor Moon? I know you're trying to help Shiho... ))</strong></p><p>How? How? How? No. No, no, no, no...!</p><p>Her fingers tapped out furiously, teeth grinding together. She kept her head angled up, watching Kawakami and glancing down whenever it looked like the teacher's attention was elsewhere.</p><p>
  <strong>- ANN -<br/>(( I don't know what you're talking about. ))<br/>- unknown number -<br/>(( I'm talking about what Shiho was too good a friend not to try warning you away from. ))<br/>(( Don't play dumb. I'm not dumb enough to fall for it. ))</strong>
</p><p>The messages were coming so fast that Ann was almost certain that Kyo couldn't have returned to her homeroom. Had she taken refuge on the roof or something? A third message came, then a fourth, not as rapidly as the other two:</p><p>
  <strong>(( Keep pretending to be interested. It'll keep Kamoshida off her long enough for me to come up with a plan. ))</strong>
</p><p>Then:</p><p>
  <strong>(( I just wanted you to know that you can blow him off if he tries to take it farther than you're prepared to go to keep up the charade. ))<br/>(( Since Shiho decided to go ahead and try to sort-of-warn you anyway, I figured I'd do her a solid and make sure the message gets through. ))</strong>
</p><p>A plan? A <em>plan? </em>Ann's lips parted in a frustrated snarl. Just what the hell was this girl thinking? She must be crazier than she looked, or... no, she was new. She just didn't know. Ann tapped out another message as quickly as she could:</p><p><strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Don't do anything stupid or you'll just get in trouble! ))<br/></strong> <strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( oho? ))<br/></strong> <strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( You don't get it. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( If it was possible to do something about him, I already would have. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( No, someone else would have before I even found out about it. ))</strong></p><p>But just as Ann was typing out a fourth message, <em>If you try anything you'll get you or Shiho in trouble</em>, Kyo's response popped up, cutting across her before she could hit the send button.</p><p><strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( If I try anything I'll get me and Shiho in trouble. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( That's what you're worried about. Right? ))</strong></p><p>Ann let out a breath of relief. But now she was confused. If Kyo understood that much, then why...?</p><p><strong>(( Don't worry, I'm not stupid. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( But I'm not going to sit here and just let him get away with it. ))</strong></p><p>Her teeth beginning to grit and grind anew, Ann tapped out in a panic:</p><p><strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Why? ))<br/>(( You'll only get in trouble, and make things harder for Shiho! ))<br/>(( You've done enough damage already! Just leave us alone! I'll handle it! ))</strong></p><p>There was such a long pause between this demand and Kyo's reply that Ann was beginning to hope that Kyo might listen. But then the answer came:</p><p><strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( "Why?" Because it's all I'm really good at, I guess. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( Besides, if he does anything to Shiho and I could have stopped it, how do you think I'd feel? ))<br/>(( I already had this talk with Shiho, damn it. ))<br/>(( Why do both of you have to act like you're the only ones allowed to put yourself in stupid, dangerous situations? ))</strong></p><p>Ann stared at her phone in confusion and horror, no longer able to disguise the emotions on her face. Dimly, she was aware of Kawakami stepping out of the room, which meant the teachers were switching rooms now. That was lucky. A minute or two more to try and talk sense into —</p><p><strong>(( Whoops, there goes Ushimaru. I need to slip into the room before Inui gets there. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( Look, I won't do anything that makes things tougher on Shiho. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( I promise. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( She's done a lot for me, so... ))</strong></p><p>Ann's lips curved down, but she relaxed a little. Had she gotten the wrong idea, then? It had sounded like Kyo was going to go off all half-assed, trying to expose Kamoshida, maybe with Ryuji at her side since he had reason to cooperate with that, and that would have been a disaster. But...</p><p>Another message from Kyo popped:</p><p><strong>(( Just keep on as if nothing's wrong, and be ready to back off if it gets dicey, okay? ))<br/>(( If you really want to help, text me *immediately* if you blow Kamoshida off for any reason. ))<br/></strong> <strong>(( If I know when that happens, I'll be ready to take the heat off Shiho if he tries to give her trouble over it. ))</strong></p><p>Ann didn't know what to think. Part of her wanted to believe it was just that easy, but it couldn't be. There was no way that it could be. She couldn't think of anything else to say though. She was stuck. She couldn't talk Kyo out of whatever she was going to try. She couldn't tell Shiho. If she did, Shiho would just turn around and make Ann confess what she was doing... and as Ann thought that, she realized she couldn't really criticize Kyo without being hypocritical. Kyo was right. Ann wasn't exactly making sound life decisions about this. She was trying to be careful, sure, but what good would it do?</p><p>It wasn't as if Ann didn't know where Kamoshida wanted things to go. She had just been hoping that he would be content enough with just her company, with... well, wasn't it basically just compensated dating? Ann shook her head, berating herself for trying to sugar-coat it before. That was exactly, <em>exactly</em> what she was doing. Compensated dating for Shiho's sake, so Kamoshida would lay off her and keep her in her starting position...</p><p>Still, she couldn't help letting some of her frustration through in her next reply to Kyo:</p><p><strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( If anything happens to Shiho because of you, I'm going to skin you alive with my nail file. We clear? ))<br/></strong> <strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( I'd sooner let the bastard have his way with *me* than let anything else happen to *her.* ))</strong></p><p>Wait... what?</p><p>Ann felt a new kind of horror. The reply had come so quickly that it was clear Kyo had typed without hesitation. But there was an implication to the new girl's choice of words. She looked up, looking around the room. There was another girl, she was sure... another girl in this homeroom that was on the volleyball team...</p><p>Ann zeroed in on a petite, brown-haired girl who sat in the back corner, fidgeting with her fingers under the desk. Another one of the starters, she thought. She recognized her vaguely from the games she'd gone to see, but...</p><p>There was nothing in her expression or the way she was sitting to give away anything, anything at all. Ann found no answer to her sudden suspicion there.</p><p>She looked down at her phone and hovered with her finger above the touch-keyboard, half-afraid to ask if Kyo was saying what she thought she was, half-convinced she was being silly — reading too much into it. But Chouno entered the classroom, then... there was no more time to text.</p><p>So instead Ann wrote:</p><p><strong>- ANN -<br/></strong> <strong>(( How did you even get this number? ))<br/></strong> <strong>- unknown number -<br/></strong> <strong>(( Shiho. Duh. ))</strong><br/><strong>(( Whoops, Makoto's giving me the side-eye. Time to be all academic and shit! ))<br/>(( byeeeeeeeeeeeeee </strong> <strong>＿φ( °-°)/ </strong> <strong>))</strong></p><p>From the hints she'd dropped in her texts, it sounded like Kyo had hung back in the hall until the teacher change so she could text Ann, and had slipped into her classroom once she'd found an opening. Had Kyo waited by the stairs to see if Shiho would say anything to Ann? What was even going on?</p><p>Kyo had eavesdropped on their conversation and determined that Ann had needed a more direct warning because Shiho hadn't been <em>subtle</em>, though... Ann just didn't know how she felt about that. It was creepy, but... there was no denying that it had worked, and that Kyo had been <em>right.</em> Ann wanted to hope that maybe the new girl knew what she was doing after all, that if she was really that kind of sneaky person she knew better than to do anything that would put her on Kamoshida's shit list.</p><p>But even if Kyo didn't know better, Ann wasn't in a position to do anything about it.</p><p>She forced herself to focus on Chouno-sensei, opening her textbook to the pages directed, taking a breath and trying to put it out of her mind.</p><p>She didn't know. She just didn't know. But, weirdly, it felt almost like she had a plan, now, even if she didn't really know what the plan was. And that was kind of, kind of... kind of <em>exciting</em>. But she'd have to talk to Kyo alone later.</p><p>As an afterthought, Ann slipped her phone out beneath the desk again, opened the SMS chat she'd just had with Kyo, and saved the new girl's number to her contacts list. There would be time to continue the exchange later, Ann thought. She would message Kyo again after her second date with Kamoshida this afternoon.</p><p>
  <em>Keep on, as if nothing's wrong...</em>
</p><p>Yeah. Yeah, Ann could definitely do that. If she knew it was safe to bail out when Kamoshida asked more of her, she could <em>definitely</em> do that. She relaxed and managed to concentrate on the lesson after deciding that. The new girl could wait.</p><p>She really would skin Kyo alive with her nail file if anything bad happened, though!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. 1-8: The Trickster To Come and the Trickster That Was Already There</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kyo Morinaga doesn't have a fancy magic talking cat to rely on when it comes to the Metaverse. But that's not going to stop her from figuring this shit out! It's time for SCIENCE. The uses she puts the magic of the Metaverse to might be a little unexpectedly mundane, however.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>From this point on, everything written for "Tokyo Butterfly" is being written after the release of Persona 5 Royal, and after I myself have cleared the game. Therefore, from this point on, THE STORY WILL CONTAIN MATERIAL THAT SPOILS THE NEW STORY SEQUENCES IN PERSONA 5 ROYAL, and those spoilers will not be restricted to the calendar month in which you reach them in the game. I strongly recommended, therefore, that you complete Persona 5 Royal or at least make headway into the Third Semester story arc before reading past this point.</p><p>Also, I apologize if there is any tonal or narrative inconsistency between the first eight chapters and this one. The first eight chapters were written in April 2018, so it has been over two years since I last wrote a chapter for this story. My ideas for how this story would progress back then have evolved quite a bit during that time, and not JUST because I am now incorporating Royal's story elements into the mix.</p><p>I will endeavor to update on a more regular basis from this point forward.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p><strong>- Chapter Eight -<br/></strong> <strong>"The Tricksters To Come and the Trickster<br/>That Was Already There"</strong></p><hr/><p>
  <em><strong>S</strong>pike! Spike NOW!</em>
</p><p>The ball shot past Kyo's thumb so close that she was almost relieved to have missed the return; the last thing she needed right now was an injured finger. She cursed as she heard it impact the grass, and turned to scowl at the ball. It bounced away, not really caring how angry she is at. Kyo let out an angry huff, and turned back to look at Shiho, who stood on the far side of police station helipad looking torn between looking gleeful about her own performance and... apologetic at having defeated Kyo so soundly.</p><p>Kyo was in her Shujin Academy gym uniform — bright red with white stripes all along the outside of the sleeves and pant-legs — while Shiho was clad in that strange outfit that had appeared when she had awakened to her magic spirit-thing in King Kamoshida's castle. When they had left the real world, she'd been wearing the Volleyball Team uniform, however. It was the same color scheme as the gym uniform, but instead of consisting of a long-legged, long-sleeved track suit, it was shorts and a t-shirt, with solid white along the outside legs and the under the arms along the torso. The player number and lettering further set it apart.</p><p>Not that any of that mattered just now.</p><p>It was an interesting situation, two high school girls having set up a volleyball net on the roof of the police station outside the municipal courthouse. They might have been arrested, if any police had spotted them there or on the way in. But of course, no one would find them: this wasn't the "real world," after all. Several days had passed since the pair had escaped King Kamoshida's soldiers in that strange otherworld, and Kyo Morinaga had jumped straight into <em>experimenting</em> after school the very next day.</p><p>Which was why she'd been able to convince Shiho that this was the perfect place to get their secret volleyball training done! Now if only Kyo was as good at <em>digging and spiking</em> as she was at figuring out the magic navigation app that had installed itself on her Android phone. It didn't matter, really. She just had to get good enough fast enough to fool Kamoshida for a little while, really. But it still stung her pride when Shiho managed to pull a shot like that.</p><p>"Oh, don't get all sulky, sourpuss," Shiho called over to her, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her. "Go get the ball before it bounces off the roof!"</p><p>Kyo stuck her tongue out, which was the closest thing to flipping the bird she would ever do around Shiho, and ran to collect the ball. Shiho giggled at her antics and waited for Kyo to return to the court so she could serve. Kyo could feel that she was out of breath already, but she knew Shiho would call an end to their training session if she noticed that it had happened so quickly. She paused by her water bottle on the way back with the ball and took a few slow pulls from it as a cover for a minute of rest, then returned to her place on their makeshift court. Breathing steadier now, she collected her wits and prepared to serve.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It had taken some doing to convince Shiho Suzui to step into that otherworld again, but when Shiho had messaged Kyo during study hall to tell her that the weird eye-symbol navigation app had appeared on her phone (and that it already had a search history item for King Kamoshida's castle in it), Kyo had decided there wasn't any time to be a chickenshit about experimenting with it. She hadn't asked Shiho for help, even though it might have been smart to have someone with weird magic powers along, but she had told Shiho not to try deleting it and that she would do what she could to figure out what the deal was.</p><p>And so Kyo had spent all afternoon on the day before volleyball tryouts doing <em>science</em>.</p><p>First she had ducked into an alley across from the school gate and, after making sure no one was nearby, she'd activated the app and stepped out of the alley to find King Kamoshida's castle waiting for her again. It seemed like she could come and go from the place as much as she liked, but that she would appear in a different place depending on where she'd activated the app from. Activating it by accident in the gymnasium had taken her to a church or chapel of some kind within the castle's interior. But entering from just outside the school, she appeared in an identical alleyway to where she'd activated the app...</p><p>After stepped back down the alley, she discovered something else that was interesting: the moment she crossed the same place she'd entered from, the world blurred and she was quite suddenly back in the real world, with the chattering sound of students echoing through the alley behind her. She'd run back to the alley entrance and, sure enough, there was a school there instead of a castle.</p><p>"Weird," she'd muttered to herself. And immediately her overactive brain had latched onto the two-minute-long experiment, trying to figure out what it must mean.</p><p>She briefly pondered checking what would happen if she selected her own search result, but she decided she didn't really want to risk that around the school. So, swiftly discarding that idea, she strolled back down the alley and stopped partway through, finger over the app's activation icon.</p><p><em>Last time,</em> she thought, <em>we just ran out the gate and came back to the "real world" as we made our escape. But I don't think we made it as far as this alley. Our starting point, though, was... in the gym. The app said we couldn't return to the real world from there, so did it just create some kind of default exit point?</em></p><p>It was difficult even for Kyo to wrap her brain around something so clearly supernatural, but she was convinced that there must be some kind of consistent rule-set that this otherworld and the phone app followed. Otherwise, why would the magic manifest as something like a computer application? Computer programming literally <em>was </em>about rules and instructions. Computer devices couldn't function without them, and only failed to work properly when the instructions were incomplete or conflicted with one another... to sum that up into a bitch-basic explanation of things. So whatever this app was, it must follow the same principle, right?</p><p>It took another five minutes and no more to slip back into the otherworld and confirm that yes, her <em>exit point</em> was determined by her <em>starting point</em>. She could enter from the exact same point in the alley and walk backwards along it, into the street. Here she found a peculiar sight: what looked like humans, but were for the most part identically uninteresting. Lots of ordinary black-haired men in suits and lots of the same copy-pasted woman in housewife attire, all carrying shopping bags. Curious. Kyo stepped tentatively out into the open, ready to bolt back to the exit point at the first sign of danger, but none of them acknowledged or spoke to her, and none of them reacted at all when she spoke them.</p><p>Strange, she thought. They were like background non-player characters created as set dressing for a city area in a role-playing game, the kind that ran on a looped animation and a set track and hadn't even been made important enough by the programmers to be intractable. Was all this some kind of weird game-world, then? It would make sense for something like that to be connected to a magic mobile phone app.</p><p>Kyo was tempted to see how far she could go and how much of Tokyo there actually was in this otherworld, but she only allowed herself to explore the city block around that alley. Except for the weird, unresponsive creepypasta NPC denizens, everything in the area seemed to be an exact replica of the city as she knew it, though the dark-red sky continually betrayed the fact that Kyo <em>was</em> in the other world. But many shop doors simply wouldn't open. The only one that did was a coffee shop at the street corner. It occurred to Kyo that this might have been the only shop on this street that Kamoshida had any reason to have entered himself. Maybe, she thought, she couldn't enter the other shops because he had never seen the inside of them either. And as soon as she noticed that, she realized that some of the windows along the street were opaque and simply showed her a faint reflection of the outside street. Even if she pressed her nose to the glass, she couldn't see what was inside at all.</p><p><em>Because he drives to the teacher parking lot,</em> Kyo realized. <em>He's never stopped to look through the windows.</em></p><p>"Curiouser and curiouser, cried Alice," Kyo quoted in monotonous deadpan with her nose against the glass. "What a weird li'l wonderland I've stumbled into..."</p><p>It was a useful hint, she thought as she returned to her exit point. Already her brain was swirling with ways she could investigate this aspect of the magic phone app further.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Back in the alley, and back in the real world, her next objective was to speak randomly into the phone. Since it appeared to need four keywords to function, it seemed like she could fill out <em>many </em>keyword slots with just the automated screen-reader program she had used for that purpose before. The app, if activated, could also pick up random keywords from a conversation if the phone happened to pick them up. But there was no simple way to fill out the names. She had discovered her own name in the search history alongside Kamoshida's; and <em>as </em>with Kamoshida's name, it had been entered into the app by accident.</p><p>Tucked into the corner of an Aoyama-Itchome diner several blocks away from Shujin, Kyo dialed down her phone's volume and muttered name after name after name into the phone as they occurred to her, in a variety of combinations, jotting down the names she'd tried into a notebook as rapidly and with as much intensity of focus as Light Yagami eating a potato chip to a background chorus of epic choir chanting. It was a productive session, even if it was tedious. Kyo learned several things from it.</p><p>First, not everyone's name got a hit in the app. Neither Shiho, nor Ryuji, nor Makoto achieved anything more than a <em>no candidates found</em> response. Her mother, the barista Sojiro Sakura, every teacher she tried? Nope. The only person she knew at Shujin Academy besides herself and Kamoshida that turned up a result was Principal Kobayakawa. Interesting. What could be the common thread linking the three of them together? She noted the question down in the margin and continued speaking names, not wanting to burn too much daylight on this task. Kobayakawa's entry was also for Shujin, and Kyo wanted to see if there was an otherworld entry she could poke her nose into that was situated elsewhere in town.</p><p>Her next experiment was to apply a number of different given names to the surnames she knew. This proved fruitless, until she randomly said the words "Futaba Sakura" and got a hit. She blinked at the screen, but the search result that had come up only had two other keywords attached to it: <em>shut-in</em>, and <em>tomb</em>, both of which must have been pinged while Kyo was asleep with the screen-reader rattling off words from the Japanese dictionary. There was no location, so she sighed in disappointment and moved on.</p><p>Giving up on that method as a bad job, she ordered a soda and took a break, staring at the ceiling as she sipped the cola through a straw. Thus rejuvenated, she returned to the monotony, this time with a better plan: she looked up a bunch of political figures online and entered their names into the app one by one. This was much more interesting.</p><p><em>Toranosuke Yoshida. </em>Known as "No-Good Tora," due to being wrapped up in scandals. The first name that came up in Kyo's search that caught her eye. The scandal angle seemed interesting, but there was no hit when she spoke his name into the phone, so she forgot about him and moved on.</p><p>Three other names of prominent political figures and authority figures, however, all returned positive results. How interesting. She kept entering them in, mostly getting negatives, but she was getting many more results this way, and a few of them even had completed keyword sets already! Now, Kyo thought, she was cooking with grease.</p><p>The eighteenth name she tried was <em>Masayoshi Shido</em>, the name of a politician she remembered offhand from a poster she'd seen near Leblanc. This one got a hit, and she snorted at the keywords. She was missing one, but apparently the other two were "Diet Building" and "ship." It was a common bit of cynical poetic imagery used to describe politicians "steering" the country, pop-culturally rather common. She didn't really want to go out to the Diet Building, though. That seemed like somewhere that she would need to wear a wig and some girly clothes, if she didn't want some security guard giving her a hard time.</p><p>Along the way she discovered a news article about a woman who could only have been Makoto's sister: Sae Niijima, an up-and-coming prosecutor. Kyo paused in her name-spam storm to read the article, but snorted in disgust and tabbed out halfway. It was just some sleazy tabloid playing up Sae's sex appeal and talking about her as if she were some kind of idol. <em>If Sae-san is anywhere as intense as her little sister,</em> Kyo thought, <em>she probably hates articles like this.</em></p><p>Kyo tried Sae Niijima's name out of curiosity, but only got the standard <em>candidate not found</em> sound byte for her trouble.</p><p>She kept trying names, and getting the occasional positive result. As an afterthought, she said "Kunikazu Okumura," the name of that cursed CEO relative of hers, and jumped in her chair when it produced another result. But she sighed, and shook her head. With most of the results she'd tried so far being potentially shady politicians, she wondered what this app even tracked in that otherworld or... whatever it was.</p><p>In the end, she decided to investigate one of the completed keyword sets she managed to assemble while testing out the names of prominent political figures, one that was far enough away from school for her purposes and also situated in a part of town that someone like Kyo wasn't <em>completely</em> out of place going to. That set of keywords belonged to an elderly man who, after quite the career in law, had ascended to the position of Director for the fabled Special Investigations Unit. Kyo had caught his name in the article about Makoto's sister, and keywords were intriguing:</p><p>
  <em>Forgery - Courthouse - Shiro</em>
</p><p>Kyo had to double-check to be sure which keywords corresponded to what "aspect" of the otherworld location. Going by Kamoshida's entry, it seemed the "crime" was "forgery," the "place" was the courthouse, and the "thing it would become," was a "shiro," or a Japanese castle, like the ones built in the Sengoku period.</p><p>Was it true that the director of the SIU was himself guilty of some sort of crime? Forgery, even? Forgery of what, Kyo wondered? How interesting...</p><p>So, when she reached her destination, a courthouse across from a major police station, she repeated the same series of experiments that she had outside the school. What she found when she did was very different to what had been waiting for her a block away from King Kamoshida's castle, though.</p><p>The pedestrians here were not copy-pasted nobodies. Well, some of them were; Kyo definitely saw the same faces more than once, but if she hadn't been looking for it, they would have looked like a pretty realistic bunch of comers and goers. What stuck out to Kyo was how uniformly respectable they all were, and how their eyes were drawn in wonder and reverence to the giant feudal-era, wood-and-stone Japanese castle that stood tall and proud amid the modern cityscape surrounding it.</p><p>Leaning against the corner of an alley and examining the structure from afar, she determined that two things were likely:</p><p>First, that all of this had to do with things going on inside an individual's mind. Their secrets, perhaps, made manifest in some cartoonish way.</p><p>Second, that this world's weirdness focused in on some weird perception within an individual's mind about a certain <em>place</em>. The way a person saw the world outside of that place seemed to affect the appearance and behavior of the people, or the... <em>replicas</em> of people that dwelt in this world, but if the individual didn't know what something looked like, at least on a subconscious level, it might not exist in this world. But if they also had no particularly strong feelings about a place...</p><p>Kyo's eyes drifted to the police station, and she frowned thoughtfully.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>She had no trouble whatsoever entering the police station in that other world. But many of the doors inside would not open and apart from a desk cop who ignored her, Kyo found nothing of interest inside. She strolled back out and climbed a fire escape out back, and ascended, to her mild surprise, on the roof of the station where an unused helipad awaited her. She strolled around the perimeter, thoughtfully eyeing the markings and scanning the skies for a helicopter. But the SIU director was an office man, Kyo thought... he probably didn't even notice how frequently the helicopters came and went... likely his office was soundproofed to block out the ambient noise from outside.</p><p>There were no helicopters, just a big flat piece of empty space.</p><p>The idea occurred to Kyo in a flash of inspiration, and she smiled devilishly to herself. This place? This place was <em>perfect</em>.</p><p>She just needed to convince Shiho of that.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"Y-y'know," Kyo said to Shiho through deep breaths on their way back to the station. "I usually have better endurance than this. But, never mind. Am I gettin' better, ya think?"</p><p>"You are," Shiho said admiringly. In contrast to her previous trip to the otherworld, she didn't seem tired at all. "And I'm surprised how fast you're getting better, Kyo. I was skeptical when we started, but... it was a good idea to use 'that place' for training, and your form and technique is getting way better, too. This idea of yours might actually work."</p><p>It was Friday night. Volleyball tryouts had been two days ago, and this had been their second time practicing volleyball on the otherworld's police station helipad. Apart from the way Kyo's stamina weirdly depleted way faster than Shiho's, and way faster than it normally <em>should</em>, they hadn't yet run into any difficulties using said helipad as their magic, secret volleyball-training hideout. They had even been able to confirm that Shiho could use her weird magic power there, too.</p><p>Carrying a volleyball net out to an alley near the courthouse and setting it up in the "other world" had proved a real chore, though, as had transporting it out afterward... the plan was not without its fair share of headaches for both of them.</p><p>Kyo nodded. "Get better at volleyball fast... fast enough t' look like a wunderkind," she mused, smirking. "Make myself look like an invaluable member o' the team. Kamoshida won't wanna pull any handsy stuff on me too early... he'll wanna wait until I'm invested in the team and too 'stuck' to do anything..."</p><p>"...and hopefully he'll lay off the other girls if he sees you around, at least for a little while," Shiho responded, "and that'll help us buy some time." She sounded more confident of the plan than she had when Kyo had explained it over the phone the previous night. But then she looked up at the reddening sky, and took a steadying breath before continuing in a more somber tone: "...I don't know if you know this, but he isn't always as... direct, as he is with me. He, um..."</p><p>"Does somethin' sneaky like gettin' up close t' correct a girl's stance or technique," Kyo said dryly, "and uses it as a cover t' feel 'em up, so even they aren't a hundred percent sure at first if it's sexual harassment. And he pushes it a little further the second time... and a little further... all the while figurin' out which girls're too afraid t' say somethin', and singlin' those out... it'll be somethin' like that, right?"</p><p>Shiho turned a sharp, wide-eyed look on Kyo. "How did you know that?" she asked, incredulous.</p><p>"I've spent a good amount o' time thinkin' on how Kamoshida's been gettin' away with stuff like this for so long," Kyo admitted irritably. "It makes me <em>sick </em>puttin' myself in that asshole's head. But I'm a sneaky person, so it's not hard for me t' figure out how other sneaky people think, if I put my mind to it."</p><p>Shiho nodded. "I see... well, you're right. That's... that's how it started with me."</p><p>The pair lapsed into silence for about half a block, until they stopped at a crosswalk, staring in silence at the passing cars and trucks. Kyo hummed softly to herself as a memory tickled at her brain. It took a few seconds for her to figure out what it was.</p><p>"If I remember right, there was a really sad accident on this street a month or two back," she murmured. "Right here at this crossin', I'm pretty sure. I wondered if it was a psychotic breakdown incident, t'be honest."</p><p>Shiho looked at Kyo in alarm. "Like what happened in Osaka?"</p><p>"That was my first thought," Kyo said, scrunching her nose up in frustration. "But it involved minors, so the information's pretty scarce. All I know is some up-and-comin' girl athlete got hit by a truck. Some social media chatter says another girl ran out inta the street and the one who died... pushed her outta the way, but..."</p><p>Shiho winced. "How old was the girl who died...?" she asked. "I think I might have heard this story."</p><p>"Fifteen or thereabouts. Dunno for sure. I don't remember the things I read very well, but that sounds right. Don't remember the name, though."</p><p>"I guess there's no way to know if it's connected," Shiho said quietly. "But why are you telling me this, Kyo?"</p><p>Kyo glanced at Shiho, trying to keep her face from devolving into that haunted look she sometimes saw reflected off her bedroom mirror when she thought about the psychotic breakdown incidents.</p><p>"Eh," Kyo said. "I've just been thinkin' maybe 'that place' is connected to it..."</p><p>Shiho's face went blank with shock, but only for a moment; the expression was washed away with understanding. "So you're wondering if someone else with that app is behind the—?"</p><p>"Oof!" Kyo grunted.</p><p>"Aaaah! Sorry, sorry!" a girl called out, as the two stumbled.</p><p>It would take a lot more than a little bump to wrong-foot Kyo, who turned to face the girl who'd walked into her with bland expression. "Excuse you," she said. Shiho reached out and slapped Kyo in the back of the head.</p><p>"Be nice," Shiho said firmly. Kyo just stuck her tongue out again. But the girl who'd walked into them immediately bent into as formal a standing bow as either of the two had ever seen, and even Kyo couldn't continue to be annoyed for even a single picosecond longer at that moment. While Kyo usually considered Japanese society and its many formalities too stuffy for her personal comfort, she just couldn't hate someone who was this <em>earnest</em> about it.</p><p>"My apologies!" the red-haired girl said. She shook her head rather violently as if to clear it, sending her deep red, ribbon-tied ponytail swishing back and forth. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."</p><p>"No worries," Kyo said with a wave of her hand, and Shiho, laughing, slapped Kyo's elbow.</p><p>"See, you <em>can </em>be nice," Shiho teased. Kyo gave her a dirty look, but at that moment saw the crossing signal change.</p><p>"Ah!" the redhead said, sounding relieved. "We can go now..."</p><p>And she took a few hurried steps forward, before slowing down several steps across the walk and wincing to herself.</p><p>"No," she mumbled to herself. "If I keep rushing on my way home, I'll just run into someone again."</p><p>Kyo watched the redhead thoughtfully for a moment, before shrugging and following Shiho across the crosswalk. As they passed, the red-haired stranger remained where she was, eyes closed as if tensing herself for a jump, and then she determinedly strode forward and fell into step a few feet to the left of the other two girls.</p><p>Looking sidelong at her, Kyo took in the other details for the first time. The girl was wearing sweatpants and, sneakers, and a sports jacket, and a hefty-looking gym bag was tucked under her arm. Kyo raised an eyebrow at this. It seemed like they had crossed paths with a fellow athlete. Her hair was also meticulously well-cared for, though: that smooth straightness and shine was especially noticeable next to Shiho's messier, more slapdash version of the same style.</p><p>"Huh!" Kyo decided to say. "We just got back from a sweaty practice session, ourselves. Right, Shiho?"</p><p>Shiho, who clearly hadn't expected Kyo to address the stranger, gave Kyo an alarmed look, then swiftly fixed her lips into an awkward smile. "R-right!" she jerked out.</p><p>"Oh?" the stranger said. And, seemingly distracted from her tension, the redhead smiled at both of them. "Are you gymnasts, too?"</p><p>Kyo blinked. "Oh? No, no. Volleyball. I just joined the school team and, I'm shootin' for the stars, see, but it's senior year for me. So Shiho here's helpin' me make up for lost time. Our team's gone t' nationals before, and I don't wanna hold anyone back, see."</p><p>The redhead, her mind successfully taken off of whatever had been bothering her, turned her polite smile on Shiho. "That's nice of you," she said honestly. "I know that kind of pressure. I've participated in some prestigious competitions, myself, but it must be more stressful when you're playing a team sport."</p><p>Shiho laughed as they all stepped over the curb on the other side of that wide street. "I can't speak for gymnastics, but I had to sub at nationals last year, and... yeah, it's nerve-wracking."</p><p>"Says the girl who scored the winnin' point," Kyo put in blandly. The redhead smiled radiantly and Shiho went immediately pink.</p><p>"Congratulations!" said the stranger cheerfully. "Oh, you must have been the team hero!"</p><p>"N-not really," Shiho said, ducking her head and brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "It wasn't anything special."</p><p>"Oh, don't talk like that! An athlete has a duty to acknowledge her accomplishments!" the stranger said firmly.</p><p>"This girl knows what's up," Kyo observed casually, poking Shiho in the side. Shiho gave Kyo a squirmy, embarrassed look, and Kyo laughed.</p><p>"So you two were at the gym practicing volleyball technique, or were you just working on endurance?" the stranger asked. Kyo thought the red-haired girl had forgotten whatever the source of her earlier tension might have been at this point; she wanted to ask the stranger what the problem had been, but knew better than to broach something personal with someone she'd just met. (It didn't often work out as well as it had with Shiho.)</p><p>"Technique," Shiho said, smiling back at the girl. "You can't see it now because of the gym uniform, but Kyo here is fighting-fit." And she leaned in, held her hand up to the side of her mouth, and stage-whispered, "<em>Way</em> too many muscles for a girl."</p><p>Kyo reached over and bopped Shiho lightly on the head. "Hush, you. Abs o' steel are the future o' womankind! They just don't know it yet."</p><p>The stranger laughed, a high, clear, bell-like sound. Kyo felt a brief flicker of intimidation, not unlike what she'd felt the first time she met Ann. She felt like she was in the presence of someone whose sphere should never have crossed with a delinquent's. But that feeling was easy enough to ignore, especially since the stranger took this opportunity to say, "I don't meet too many girls who exercise as much as I do! Kyo-san... is it? And Shiho-san? I'm sorry, I didn't catch your family names..."</p><p>"I'm Shiho Suzui, and this unruly monster is Kyo Morinaga!" Shiho said cheerfully.</p><p>Kyo huffed. "Oi, oi. Don't be givin' the gymnastic superstar a bad impression o' me," she said without heat. She grinned at the redhead and asked, "What's your name?"</p><p>"I'm Sumire Yoshizawa," said the redhead, her eyes sparkling with interest. "So your team plays at nationals?"</p><p>"Ah, yeah," Shiho answered. "Our coach is pretty famous, and the school's really well-known for the volleyball team."</p><p>Sumire Yoshizawa must not have noticed the slightly strained way Shiho said this, because she immediate beamed at them. "You can't mean... you two are students at Shujin Academy? Ooooh, I <em>thought</em> I recognized the uniforms!" She leaned forward to get a look at the front of Shiho's t-shirt, where the name of the school was displayed. "Oh, what luck! It seems we attend the same school!"</p><p>Kyo blinked, and Shiho blurted out, "You go to Shujin?"</p><p>Sumire nodded gamely, and Kyo found herself mesmerized by the flip-flop-swoosh of her immaculate ponytail. It glimmered in the glow of the streetlamps under the dimming evening sky.</p><p>"I just started this week!" Sumire said. She stepped out in front of them and bowed. "Are you a second-year or a third-year, Suzui-san? Either way, I guess that makes you both my senpai."</p><p>"Oh, yes, I am a second-year," Shiho answered, smiling again as if the girl's greeting couldn't be answered by anything but the purest joy. Seeing this, Kyo snorted.</p><p>"I don't think anyone's ever called me 'senpai' with a straight face," Kyo mentioned. "...Just call me Kyo. I don't really like honorifics much, Yoshizawa-san."</p><p>Sumire giggled, and pointed at Kyo. "You didn't seem like the type for formality," she said easily. "Fine then, but you don't be formal with me if you don't feel comfortable with it. No arguments, and that's final."</p><p>Neither girl answered immediately. The silence that stretched on for the three seconds after Sumire made this declaration might have been a glimpse into the doom of the universe, or at least into a very annoying year for someone.</p><p>"Oh no," Shiho said in a long-suffering way. "You gave her permission."</p><p>Sumire looked at Shiho. "Hm?"</p><p>"You don't know what you've unleashed," Shiho said soberly.</p><p>"I... don't understand," Sumire said guilelessly.</p><p>"Heheh, stop scarin' her, Shiho," Kyo said slyly. "After all, we wanna make Flyaway over here feel welcome at her new school, yeah?"</p><p>Sumire looked blankly at Kyo.</p><p>Shiho sighed. "She's a nicknamer," she said, reaching out to pat Sumire consolingly on the shoulder. "You'll be dealing with that until she graduates. I am so sorry."</p><p>"Oh," Sumire said, putting her smile back on. "I-I don't mind, just maybe not at school...?"</p><p>"Mmm... no promises," Kyo said with a chuckle that made Sumire sigh a little. But the redhead perked up immediately when Kyo added: "Alright, alright, I'm just messin', Sumire. But thanks. Trust me, Shiho's got the wrong idea about me."</p><p>Shiho looked at Kyo dubiously. "You've been calling Ann 'Personal Space Invader' to her face every chance you get."</p><p>"Because she is!" Kyo said. "It was the first thing she did when we met! She got all up in my personal space! She deserves it."</p><p>Sumire giggled, and walked alongside them the rest of the way to Shibuya Station. There they parted ways, since they needed to take different trains, but Sumire made a point to ask them for their contact information before they did. And just like that, Kyo had made another friend. <em>Wonders will never cease this year,</em> she thought as she watched Sumire's train to Kichijoji slide away along its track... but, for today, that wasn't so bad. This had been one of the nicer kind of wonders, hadn't it?</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Kyo had one thought about the school's general treatment of the volleyball team... they milked them too damn much. Even setting aside Kamoshida's treatment of the team, practice was too frequent. The other sports teams that needed the gymnasium only got it maybe one day a week each, on the day that Kamoshida had the volleyball players focus on endurance exercises out in the "field..." which was itself a piddly square of open grass with a running track and cheap bleacher seating crammed into a soccer-stadium-sized rectangle between buildings a whole block and a half away from the school building. It was downright discriminatory, really. The track team had been fine with such an arrangement, and the soccer team almost was okay with it, since it was indeed designed to be a soccer field. But all of the sports teams that weren't volleyball had to vie for use of that small outdoor grass field, even if grass wasn't ideal for practice. The basketball and tennis clubs had to make do with what very little time in the gym they could get, and this meant that they also had to rely a lot on morning practice to make up for lost time.</p><p>But the Volleyball Team even monopolized a fair bit of <em>that</em> time. Kyo was an early riser, so it was easy for her, but Kamoshida was absolutely merciless with morning practice. And with dispensation of water.</p><p>All of this Kyo had only heard secondhand, because the Volleyball Team had so far only had Wednesday tryouts and afternoon practice on Thursday. Friday was reserved for Basketball and Tennis tryouts (which had to be held back-to-back). Saturday, it turned out, was the first morning practice.</p><p>"Ugh," Shiho mumbled as she walked next to Kyo. "Mornings."</p><p>"I know. Ain't they glorious?" Kyo said breezily, waving her hand at the dim sky above. "Smell that fresh air!"</p><p>"It smells like fossil fuel and broken dreams," Shiho grumbled. Kyo laughed, but looked quizzically at Shiho, sobering up.</p><p>"You been sleepin' okay?"</p><p>Shiho smiled faintly at her new friend's concern. "Like a baby. 'That place' tires me out a little, too," she admitted. "I've been sleeping pretty well even when we don't go, actually. Before our... well, before that adventure the other day, I couldn't sleep a solid eight hours to save my life."</p><p>"Mm," Kyo hummed, nodding in understanding. "Trouble keepin' the old noodle quiet, huh? I've been there."</p><p>"Yeah," Shiho sighed. "Whenever I closed my eyes, I kept thinking about too many things. And well, it's not like it's all better now, like magic. But I'm sleeping okay."</p><p>"After what happened in that castle, I'd think you'd have a few nightmares," Kyo probed. Shiho snorted.</p><p>"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Shiho muttered. "But, that weird power... Kyo, I can't describe it, but it made me feel so... so <em>strong</em> and <em>sure.</em> Almost like I was invincible. I've only ever felt that way on the volleyball court."</p><p>"Hm." That thoughtful sound escaped Kyo's closed lips again, and she turned her eyes to the sky. "Well, it's time t' harness some o' that invincibility again, 'cause we got mornin' practice <em>and</em> afternoon practice today."</p><p>Shiho groaned, then shrugged.</p><p>"At least I have someone to talk to on the way to morning practice for once," Shiho said, with the air of grasping at straws for some kind of silver lining. "Last year, I always walked to morning practice alone. And for the last couple months of it, it was like walking down death row."</p><p>Kyo grimaced.</p><p>"I can imagine," Kyo said through her teeth. "Don't worry 'bout that, though. Things'll be different this year."</p><p>"Don't do anything stupid," Shiho said, for the fifth time over the last three days.</p><p>"Don't assume I'm bein' stupid when I do somethin' that looks crazy," Kyo countered, also for the fifth time.</p><p>Shiho and Kyo both grinned humorless grins at each other. That exchange of words was becoming something like a secret handshake and they hadn't even known each other for a week yet.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Suguru Kamoshida was in a fouler mood than usual. It was hard to keep his expression schooled into something pleasant and personable, after the news he'd been given at yesterday's staff meeting. As if it wasn't enough of a vexation to have to deal with Kyo Morinaga on a daily basis, now Principal Kobayakawa had gone verifiably senile. Maybe he'd run out of room in other parts of his body, so the onslaught of lard had begun to displace his brain matter in its search for room and board. Either way, it was insulting, what Kobayakawa was trying to pull here. What the hell was he thinking?</p><p>All Kobayakawa would tell him was that there were <em>circumstances to consider. </em>Bullshit, Kamoshida thought. No circumstances could ever excuse letting criminal trash transfer into a prestigious school like Shujin Academy...</p><p><em>Into MY school,</em> Kamoshida seethed.</p><p>A transfer student, Ren Amamiya, would be starting his second year at Shujin Academy a week late. The transfer had been sudden, out-of-nowhere, the result of a court order, Kamoshida understood. But any school could have accepted the cretin. Any school at all. There was no need for it to be Shujin. Let him rot in some back-alley dumpster of a school with the other delinquent trash. Why Shujin?</p><p>Kamoshida hadn't yet had a chance to talk to Principal Kobayakawa on his own to ask about it yet. Kobayakawa would be swamped with work over the weekend, work and some social event that he was invited to as the principal of one of Tokyo's most prestigious schools. But whatever the reason, it was bullshit. What, Kobayakawa thought reforming some delinquent trash would help the school's reputation? <em>Don't make me laugh,</em> he thought. No one cared about prissy-bitch goodwill like that in this world. All they cared about were results, and how strongly those results impacted the school's standing, the <em>weight</em> of its letters of recommendation.</p><p>He clicked his tongue. Even at the faculty meeting, it seemed like teachers weren't giving him the credit he was due. Why the hell did that idiot philosophy teacher want to recommend a member of the <em>Art Club</em> to such a prestigious college, anyway? Kamoshida would have to get on the vice principal's ass again... there were only so many letters of recommendation they could send to a single college, and <em>that</em> one? The idiot philosophy teacher didn't deserve to give it out.</p><p>Kamoshida had to fight to keep a pre-victory smirk off his face, but he allowed himself to discreetly flex the fingers and biceps of his dominant arm.</p><p>The vice principal would see it his way, no question. That letter of recommendation would go to one of the third-year boys on <em>his </em>volleyball team.</p><p>
  <em>The only one who needs to achieve results is me.</em>
</p><p>Kamoshida put that issue out of his mind and opened the door to the courtyard, long strides taking him to the gymnasium where the girls' team was scheduled for morning practice. His favorite practice, as it happened, because it was during morning practice that he took some measure of repayment for dealing with these whiny, noodle bitches and their inferior performance at the sport. Frustratingly incapable of matching the endurance his male team had achieved, and always distracted by gossip and boys. Airheads, all of them.</p><p>But soft airheads, he mused. Soft, and the way they they shivered beneath his fingers was exhilerating.</p><p>Kamoshida was looking forward to the pick-me-up before he had to deal with the little snots in third-year P.E. today.</p><p>That thought, however, caused him to stop in his tracks three paces from the gymnasium door. He groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose.</p><p><em>Right,</em> he realized. <em>Shit. Third-year P.E. is on the same day as morning practice with the girls... and evening practice with the girls.</em></p><p>He would have to pretend to be nice to the green-haired goblin whore in the morning, during the period right before lunch... <em>and</em> during practice after school.</p><p>"Oh, fuck my life," he growled under his breath, before opening the door and barking out the order to his under-performing team of Barbie dolls to get started on their laps. To his immense chagrin, Kyo Morinaga was already standing there next to Suzui, and had the nerve to spring into a full American military salute before laughing, grabbing Suzui by the hand, and starting on warm-up laps with her.</p><p>He gritted his teeth. Thursday afternoon's practice...</p><p>Takamaki had made an excuse that day, something about appendicitis, as if he was retarded enough to believe that! </p><p>...that presumptuous goblin <em>bitch</em> had come to his office after he'd sent Mishima to go collect Suzui for some one-on-one <em>pointers</em>...</p><p><em>Sorry, Coach, but I have a little deal with Shiho, see?</em> she had said sheepishly. <em>I'm still not sure about volleyball, t'be honest. But she was so insistent that I join the team. I told her I'd only do it if she helps me with my catch-up studyin', and today's the day we agreed on. Sorry, sorry! But I'll make sure she stays on toppa practice, too. </em></p><p>God! That obnoxious dialect grated on his ears even now.</p><p>But he couldn't do anything. The goblin whore was too important. She wasn't the best member of the team by any stretch, but at the rate she was improving, Morinaga would make a serviceable compliment to Suzui's skills in time for the next tournament. He had to put her on the starting lineup, no matter how he felt about it.</p><p>Results were what mattered. And he, Kamoshida, was the one who had to achieve results. But she would get hers, he swore to himself. She would get hers, and so would that other fucking transfer student.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>He swung his fist in the general direction of his alarm clock, but missed. It continued beeping. A groan rumbled in the boy's chest and he sat up, blinking bleariness from his eyes and running a hand through his perpetually frizzy hair. An annoyed grunt succeeded the groan as his fingers found an anomaly in the frizziness and he realized he had a cowlick. On an ordinary day, Ren Amamiya would have known better than to flop into bed after a shower without drying his hair, but last night he just hadn't been able to motivate himself to give a damn.</p><p>He swung his arm out with a little more deliberate aim this time, and smacked the alarm to make it shut up.</p><p>Never mind, Ren thought. It meant an annoying amount of work taming his hair before the train ride, but that just meant he had something to occupy his mind with. That was good. Kept him from thinking too much about the circumstances that had led him here, to his current impending set of question-mark circumstances.</p><p>He rolled out of bed to his familiar narrow bedroom for the first time in God knew how long, he'd lost track. Looking around the now barren room, his eyes fell on the space where his game console had once sat on his desk, next to the small television his father had purchased for him as a reward for achieving an admirable test score near the start of last year. He scowled. Console and television were absent. They hadn't just been confiscated, they had been sold. As such, they would not be joining the belongings that his father and mother had curated to be sent to his new place of lodging.</p><p>The box mostly just contained clothes and toiletries and other necessities. Nothing else worth mentioning; not even any of his books or movies. All of that had been stashed away in the attic somewhere. A criminal record erased one's need for entertainment during downtime, it seemed!</p><p>
  <em>Agh, I'm just going to sulk all day if I think about that now.</em>
</p><p>Ren hopped to his feet, turned toward the door, and found himself face-to-face with the clothes he had hung upon the coat-hook there. Unwrinkled, pristine, spotless: a black blazer with plaid red-and-black uniform pants, a white undershirt peeking out from the collar, all arranged on a clothes hanger by his ever detail-oriented mother. Barely looking at it, he'd hung it up with the blazer's back facing outward by chance. There was undoubtedly a school emblem on there somewhere on the front, but Ren hadn't cared enough to check.</p><p>Whatever school it was would be his new school going forward, far and away from his life here and from his friends. No big loss, he thought flippantly. It wasn't as if he'd been close to anyone. He'd had a crush on Ami, the captain of the girls' soccer team, but they'd barely exchanged two words and she probably thought he was some kind of thug now. As for the guys...</p><p>...He really didn't want to know what they thought about all this, or even whether they'd believe his side of the story. The book was closed on his life in this town.</p><p>Ren carelessly opened the door, strolled down the hall, and slipped into the house's tiny bathroom. It took him almost eight minutes to get the back of his hair to fall in line with the rest of the frizz, which he liked to think gave him a look of casual suaveness without being all pretty-boy-esque. Probably he just looked scruffy, but he liked to imagine it was a suave scruffiness that girls wanted to run a few fingers through, maybe. A man had to have a positive self-image, right?</p><p>One toothbrushing later and he was on his way downstairs. His father, a narrow-eyed man with a strong chin and a receding hairline, was sitting at the table in the open-yet-compact kitchen space. He didn't look up from his tablet or greet his son with even a simple good-morning, but neither did he scowl or anything like that. Ren's father seemed determined to forget that he had a son, and that... was understandable, Ren had grudgingly accepted. This whole mess had probably bitten Taro Amamiya in the ass pretty hard by now, either socially or in his professional pursuits.</p><p>It was <em>well and proper</em>, after all, that adults should be harsh on a delinquent boy until he had proven himself reformed.</p><p>His mother wasn't there, which was odd. Ren glanced surreptitiously at his father's tablet as he passed the table, saw it was a news article about some accident or incident in Tokyo (the only other thing he managed to read in the instant he looked was the word "gymnast"), and moved on to the fridge before his father had any reason to glance at him. Ren had always had a bad habit of being curious about other peoples' comings and goings, and over time he'd perfected the art of flitting his nose in and out of things until not even his closest acquaintances at school ever noticed him listening in on a conversation in the hallway.</p><p>At one time he'd thought he might be a detective or a reporter, using such a cool cloak-and-dagger talent, and had been curious what he could do in the way of a college major in that vein. He'd never been sure whether the idea was a flight of fancy or a genuine ambition worth pursuing, and hadn't gotten around to seriously looking into it. Now he wondered if he'd spend the rest of his life slaving over steam and grease at Wild Duck Burger, listening to co-workers ask customers if they wanted to take part in some deal on fries or a kids' meal with a toy...</p><p>It took all of a minute for Ren to grab a piece of random fruit and pour himself a glass of water. He'd already decided he'd eat properly at some point between trains. His parents hadn't confiscated his allowance savings, at least, so he had enough to do a bit of mid-journey stress eating.</p><p>And boy. Boy, oh boy did he need to stress-eat right now. No, not right now. Yesterday. <em>Three weeks ago. </em>Yeah, that sounded about right. He needed to frickin' stress eat three weeks ago.</p><p>Maybe he would try the Big Bang Challenge when he got to Tokyo. They didn't have a Big Bang Burger in this town, and he'd always been a little curious.</p><p>With that tantalizing ambition floating around his hungry morning brain, Ren took his fruit and his water and disappeared up the stairs like the invisible ninja his father clearly wanted to pretend that he was.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Shiho walked next to Kyo on the way out of the gymnasium. Ann Takamaki, the impossibly beautiful foreign girl whom Kyo had dubbed Personal Space Invader, was waiting for them by the door into the classroom building, and practically pounced like a panther at the pair the moment they stepped into her field of view.</p><p>"Shiho! Kyo-san!" Ann said, sounding equal parts tired and relieved. She stopped, and blinked. "You look... energized. Practice went good, then?"</p><p>Kyo smirked, and Shiho put her fist to her mouth to stifle a guilty giggle. Ann looked back and forth between them, wondering what joke she was missing, and Kyo beckoned her to follow. Ann nodded with an uneasy grin and followed her best friend (plus one meddling, green-haired tagalong) to the small alcove in the back of the courtyard where a table stood, surrounded by vending machines.</p><p>Here, Shiho and Kyo looked around for potential eavesdroppers. Then Kyo leaned in, lowering her voice so that her words came out in a quiet, conspiratorial snicker.</p><p>"You shoulda seen Coach's idiot face, Ann," Kyo said. "Every time one o' the girls was outta good form, and Kamoshida was about t' run his dirty stinkin' paws over 'em, I was suddenly there first, like..." The green-haired girl took a breath, and said in a falsely helpful voice, "'<em>Let me, Coach! Miyumi-san, you're a little off! I can show ya how that works</em>...' pff, the guy could barely hold in his butthurt, lemme tell ya..."</p><p>Ann's eyes widened. "And he was fooled?" she asked in disbelief.</p><p>"Ha! He <em>thinks</em> somethin's goin' on, but he can't <em>prove it</em>, can he? A taste o' his own bitter medicine," Kyo said smugly. "But I'll give ya the blow-by-blow o' the ongoin' coup d'état later, when we're a little further away from the grapevine, yeah?"</p><p>"O-oh, right," Ann whispered, glancing around. "Wouldn't want someone snitching on you to Kamoshida."</p><p>Shiho's giggles subsided, and she forced herself to look stern when she turned to Kyo. "You're going to make him angry at this rate," she warned.</p><p>Kyo smirked. "Yeah, but he'll hafta hold it in for a little while," she said. "And this's only my first move. The Students' Republic o' Morinaga's deployed its armies. Pretty soon they'll be a-creepin' up t' the castle walls, and the <em>toppest </em>of notchest of assassins will creep inta the dungeons through the vulnerable storm-drains, infiltrating that dread fortress t' the very tippy top o' the dark tower 'midst the middle of it... the Kamoshida Kingdom's days are few now, and gettin' fewer with each passin' sunset! Kyeheheheheh...!"</p><p>Shiho and Ann stared blankly at Kyo, who stood there with her fist clenched in preemptive victory, staring with fiery eyes out into the horizon (which Kyo could apparently see through the opaque Practice Building). After a few seconds, Kyo's face went red, she lowered her fist, and muttered, "Sorry, bad habit. Uh, I picked that up from a shogi friend I met a couple'a weeks before I started here."</p><p>This was met with even more silence. Shiho was the first to speak.</p><p>"You play Shogi?" she asked curiously.</p><p>Which prompted Ann to echo the question in a very different tone of voice indeed:</p><p>"<em>You</em> play <em>shogi</em>?!"</p><p>At which point a third voice, a male one, drew the attention of all three girls, and probably every living creature with eardrums who happened to be in the courtyard at that moment:</p><p>"<em>For real?!</em>"</p><p>Three guesses who that voice belongs to, and the first two don't count.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>He fed and watered himself. He switched his sleepwear for his uniform and stuffed said sleepwear into his school bag so that he would have it when he got to his destination. He looked down at his chest and snorted in derision at the irony of the school emblem's shape — it looked almost like a police officer's badge. Finally, he went back downstairs. The train trip to Yongen-Jaya would take the better part of the day. Ren had to get moving now: he was aiming for an early train. A proper breakfast would have to wait until he got to the first change-over. It would have been rude to show up too late in the evening if he could help it, and Ren wanted to make a decent first impression on his new, temporary guardian. Since, like... he would have to live with the guy for a year, and all. <em>Probably </em>a good idea not to piss him off.</p><p>All he knew was the man's name, Sojiro Sakura, and his address. Ren would have to make do on his own as far as finding him went. From what Ren had been told, Yongen-Jaya was a labyrinth of alleys and backstreets. Par for the course when it came to Tokyo neighborhoods, apparently.</p><p>Ren's father was gone by the time he came back down, no doubt on his way to his own train: the commute to his office in the nearest city was apparently quite long. But when Ren stepped out the front door, he found his mother waiting for him by the fence.</p><p>The "fence" in this case was only about two yards away from the front door. Their house really only had enough room around it for his mother's humble vegetable garden off to the side and a two-person bench by the door that mostly went unused but made for a decent springtime reading spot. The neighborhood, like many others in Japan, was packed in tightly and the houses were quite small, though there were a few within this handful of blocks that were larger than Ren's home and he knew of at least one with a third floor.</p><p>Ren's mother turned, looking at her son with an inscrutable, closed-off expression. Ren had to fight back a nostalgic smile at that look; she'd passed it on to him. In happier days, his mother had joked that it was a genetic inheritance.</p><p>It occurred to him now, though, that this was the first time since his release from juvenile detention that he'd seen his mother without his father also being there.</p><p>"Ren-kun," she said neutrally, as she said most things. "You're heading out, right? ...To your new home for the year."</p><p>The way she'd said it almost made it sound like she was seeing him off as he left for school in the morning. Ren kept his own face as neutral as her voice was.</p><p>"Yes, mom. Not much wiggle room if I want to arrive at Sakura-san's at a reasonable hour."</p><p>His mother nodded. "I know. You always were good at managing your time," she said, some of that evenness fading into wistfulness. "Even when you were young, I never had to worry about you spending too much time playing games."</p><p>Ren's eyebrows twitched up, but he schooled them back into a respectful position. She must have seen it, though, because she sighed.</p><p>"I believe you. I want you to know that," his mother said. "I wish I could do more, but... your father... you have to understand, he believes you too. He just... needs time."</p><p>Of course, Ren understood that it was more than his father needing time. His father believed that Ren should have kept his head down and not gotten involved, right or wrong. His father believed that Ren shouldn't have gotten involved in a matter between adults. That it wasn't his place, and that Ren stepping out of line had ultimately done no one any good and brought harm upon the household.</p><p>Ren kept his poker face in place, remembering that lecture. He did not agree with his father.</p><p>One who ignored the injustice happening right before his eyes, Ren believed, was no better than a criminal himself.</p><p>His mother sighed, and reached into the pocket of her light jacket. From it, she withdrew a pair of glasses with large, roundish frames.</p><p>Ren's eyebrows went up, unapologetically this time. His mother smiled a sad smile and walked up to him. Unfolding the glasses, she slid them onto his face.</p><p>"Mom?" Ren asked, bewildered.</p><p>"Glasses make a man look more intelligent and less threatening," she said decisively. "These will help you make a good impression at your new school. Keep your head down and study hard, my son. The year will be gone before you know it."</p><p>He blinked, and and looked around, testing them out. His vision had always been fine and seemed unchanged with the glasses on, so they were just fashion glasses. Turning, he looked at his reflection in the front window of his house. He stared at himself with the glasses and, after a few moments, the sense of unfamiliar weirdness faded from his mind and he decided that he kind of liked the look of them.</p><p>"Thanks, Mom," he said quietly. "I'll take care of them."</p><p>"You do that. Now, go before your train leaves without you. If Sakura-san tells me you made an effort during your probation, I'll make sure your father buys you a new game system to replace your old one. Perhaps even a newer one, yes?"</p><p>Ren turned a small smile on his mother. He wanted to ask (because he was genuinely curious) just who this Sakura-san was and how his family knew the man, but she was right. He really did need to leave.</p><p>So instead he just nodded and said, "Bye then, Mom. I'll see you at the end of the school year."</p><p>Ren Amamiya didn't look back, but he focused on his hearing as he walked away, and closed his eyes for a few moments when he heard his mother shut the front door on her way back inside. He brought a finger up, adjusting his new glasses and grimacing. Now the tedium of his dreary new life would begin in earnest. Joy to the <em>world</em>, he thought with melodious acid: the gods are dead.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>It was about midway through fifth period that a text message beeped into Kyo's phone, which silently vibrated in her blazer pocket. With a wary glance at Ms. Usami and a quick look to make sure Makoto was too engrossed in her own note-taking to notice, Kyo slipped the phone out and hid it under the desk, tapping the message notification and sliding her finger along the lock button. The number was unknown, but the message made it clear who it was in the first line.</p><p>
  <strong>- unknown number -<br/>(( It's Sakura. I almost forgot that I asked you this, but it's about that job I offered you. ))<br/>(( Stop by Leblanc on your way home from school. If you have club, I'll stay open until you get here. ))<br/>(( There's someone I want you to meet. ))</strong>
</p><p>Kyo blinked. She'd almost forgotten about Sojiro Sakura's job offer, too. But now that she had a reminder, the conversation with Sojiro at the café that she'd had near the end of March played back in her head. It felt like so long ago, despite really only being about a week ago. That had been the day the weird magic app had first appeared on her phone... and she'd had that weird vision of a yellow-eyed copy of herself.</p><p>A yellow-eyed copy of herself, like the yellow-eyed King Kamoshida in that otherworld place. Kyo shivered, and mentally shook herself from that train of thought. She tapped out a quick reply:</p><p>
  <strong>- KYO -<br/>(( I'll be there.))<br/>(( How'd you get my number?))<br/></strong>
</p><p>Sojiro's response amused the hecking spit out of her:</p><p>
  <strong>- unknown number -</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>(( From your mom, who'd have some choice words for you if she knew you were texting in class! ))</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>(( You could have at least waited for the next teacher change-out. ))</strong>
</p><p>"Don't text in class!" Makoto snapped under her breath, and Kyo's eyes went deadpan. At that moment:</p><p>
  <strong>(( I'll be waiting up, so don't show up too late. ))</strong>
</p><p>Kyo tapped a quick-emote key for a little sunglasses smiley-thing giving an army salute, and locked her phone.</p><p>"I have a perfect memory for things I hear, y'know!" Kyo hissed back at Makoto. "I never forget a lecture, even if I ain't payin' attention to it!"</p><p>"Hmph," Makoto harrumphed back. "You should still show respect to teachers."</p><p>Kyo sighed, and assumed a respectful, straight-backed stance in her chair, eyes forward. But still, she grinned faintly, and couldn't resist a painful jab.</p><p>"Yes ma'am, thankya ma'am, Madam President."</p><p>Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Kyo was pleased to see Makoto blush a bit. The elections hadn't come in, but, being the mean, green, gossip-absorption machine that she was, Kyo had poked around the school under the pretext of seeing who the students were planning to vote for so she could cast an educated vote herself. And as she had told Makoto before homeroom, it looked like she was going to win by a landslide.</p><p>"The election hasn't happened yet!" Makoto snapped quietly.</p><p>"Whatever helps ya sleep at night, Madam President. A hardworking representative needs their beauty sleep."</p><p>Makoto went, if possible, even redder, and determinedly remained silent, turning her attention back to Ms. Usami's calculus lecture.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So after more than two years, I am finally continuing this story. First it was that I got sidetracked and didn't know how to continue; then it was the announce of Persona 5 Royal, and my decision to wait until its release so I could decide whether or not to incorporate the new story material. Well, as you can clearly see by reading this chapter... I am incorporating the new story material. Indeed, the direction I had planned to take this story seems a little trite now after experiencing the Third Semester in all its glory. I can't believe they managed to add such an amazing arc to what was already one of my favorite JRPGs of all time as it was! To say nothing of the many and varied gameplay improvements made to this new version of the game, which just make it even more a joy to experience than it already was.</p><p>Anyway, yeah. Play Persona 5 Royal if you haven't already! And I hope you enjoy this story as it, at last, moves forward into the first in-game calendar month of the canon story!</p><p>— Lewis Medeiros,<br/>June 18th, 2020 at 8:05 AM</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. 1-9: A Prisoner of Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The "job" that Sojiro Sakura wants Kyo to do for him turns out to be quite a bit different than she anticipated. Ren Amamiya's first night in Tokyo involves quite a nicer view than he anticipated, as well. If only his trip into town hadn't been so... weird.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>
  <strong>- Chapter Nine -<br/>"A Prisoner of Fate"</strong>
</p><hr/><p><em><strong>S</strong>tress-eating before a long train ride,</em> thought Ren Amamiya as he tried to blink the drowsiness away. <em>That... probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had.</em></p><p>In order to reach Tokyo by the most time-efficient means possible, he'd needed to hop a train out from his country hometown and all the way to Okina City, which itself was a fairly long trip. From there... he'd had to wait about half an hour for the train that would take him out to the Kanto region. Now that he had reached this second change-over, he needed to hop yet another train, this one for a rather short stint that would take him at last to his destination. Fortunately there was no big wait for that one; it had just been an inconvenient niggle in the route he had needed to take to get where he was going.</p><p>During the half-hour he'd needed to wait in Okina, however, he had decided to throw restraint to the wind and indulge in three helpings of waffles. Thick, fluffy, crispy waffles, topped with melty butter and drowning in maple syrup, with a side of bacon. It was more like a dessert than a breakfast, and it bit into his savings in a way he would definitely regret later... but he felt that after all of the shit he'd been through, he deserved to sneak in one big indulgence before throwing himself back into the grinder. Ren was sure that, bolstered thus by a waffle feast, he would be able to maintain his chill and make a good impression on Sojiro Sakura when he made it to Yongen-Jaya.</p><p>Never mind that his indulgence had almost caused him to miss his next train.</p><p>But he'd caught himself nodding off a few times on the way to Kanto. Now Ren was having a bit of trouble keeping his eyes open as he weaved his way through another train station in search of another train platform. He glanced back and forth between the crowded building ahead of him and his smartphone. Bleary-eyed as Ren was, he didn't trust his short-term memory not to lose its grip on the name of the line he needed to take to Tokyo.</p><p>The amount of time his itinerary allowed for this second change-over was tight enough <em>without</em> the bathroom break he'd needed to take the moment he disembarked, so Ren was relieved when he reached the platform and found that the train to Tokyo hadn't pulled into the platform yet; at first he'd been afraid it might have left without him. It turned out, according to some grumbling from the middle-aged couple seated on the bench next to the timetable, that "another accident" had almost happened and it had pushed the whole day's train schedule back by about twenty minutes.</p><p><em>I feel bad for thinking it, but that worked out in my favor,</em> Ren thought dully, leaning against a pillar at the platform. Indeed, he hadn't noticed it before, but his itinerary had updated with the new boarding time. So, with most of twenty minutes to spare now, Ren had a bit of time to plan his next move. The drowsiness wasn't going to go away anytime soon, he didn't think, and he would be on the train for at least half an hour. He had time for a good, old-fashioned power nap, he figured.</p><p>Yeah. Yeah, that sounded good. On top of the drowsiness brought on by an over-full stomach, he hadn't really been able to sleep well since returning from juvenile detention. He just kept fixating on everything that had happened whenever he slowed down enough to try for sleep, which had led to him rolling out of bed a lot as restless pacing fits overtook him...</p><p>It would be a bad idea to brave the legendary pedestrian crossings of Tokyo without being fully cognizant, so Ren pulled up his alarm clock app and set it for a bit before the Tokyo train would pull in at his stop. The app rarely saw use as a real alarm clock, because Ren was naturally an early riser anyway; most of the time he just set it so that he didn't lose track of time playing video games, or so that he knew when he'd decided he wanted to end a studying session at (to keep himself from getting lazy and calling it a day early). As Ren moved to pocket the phone, he smirked to himself ruefully. Apart from just this morning, he couldn't remember the last time he'd needed to use an alarm clock, smartphone or otherwise, to wake himself up. Most of the time, even when he set one as a precaution, he ended up waking up before it went off anyway.</p><p>He stopped with his phone partway in his pocket, thinking twice about putting it away.</p><p>
  <em>Well, since I've got time now...</em>
</p><p>Ren knew he would have issues staying alert out here on the platform, even standing up, if he didn't occupy his brain somehow. And he needed to be alert to be sure he could claim a comfortable seat to take a nap in. So he whipped out his smartphone again and scrolled through the apps, looking for something that fit the bill. A glance at the clock told him he had about fifteen minutes...</p><p>A ten-minute game of <em>Shogi Wars</em>, he decided. And thus he succeeded in not passing out face-first on the platform before his train rolled in. A small victory, but a victory. Which was more than he achieved at the game itself, but Ren was too exhausted to care much about that.</p><p>Unfortunately, Ren wasn't quite able to get onto the train in time to snag an ideal spot. He did at least find his way to a seat next to some hand-rails, which he figured he could lean against while he napped. He set his bag across his lap and let the hand-grip support his shoulder, allowing his frizzy hair to act as a pillow against the wall behind him. For a quick rest, it would do, he decided. It was certainly better than no seat at all.</p><p>Ren let his eyes drift half-closed while the train pulled out of the station and watched the scenery roll past for a little while until he felt his eyelids getting heavier. With a belly full of waffles and a brain pleasantly distracted by basic shogi maneuvers and flashy mobile game graphics, Ren Amamiya drifted off. His head slid back a little, and the last thing he heard before he lost all awareness was the faint <em>clink</em> of his new glasses tapping against the vibrating glass window of the train.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Clink... clink...</em>
</p><p>That was a different sort of clinking sound, Ren thought through the pleasant blanket of sleep. It didn't sound like the plastic frames of his glasses tapping against the train window. It sounded like chains being jostled lightly. Which would make sense if there were chains on a moving train, but... he didn't feel like he was moving at all, and couldn't hear the train.</p><p>Then a <em>drip</em> met his ears, followed by another <em>drip.</em></p><p>Ren jolted awake with something between a gasp and a yelp, realizing at once that he was laying down... and was no longer on the train bound for Tokyo.</p><p>He should have jumped up the moment he became aware of this, but the ceiling and wall he could see in his immediate field of view were too strange and unfamiliar for Ren to process it all at once. There was so much blue. So much <em>deep</em> blue. Even though the room he was in was poorly lit (illumination was filtering in from somewhere north of his head where he lay), Ren had a strong impression of blueness that reminded him not of the sky or the ocean, but of a precious gemstone of some kind, such as a sapphire, or maybe lapis lazuli.</p><p>
  <em>Drip. Drip.</em>
</p><p>Where was the sound of water coming from? Ren heaved himself up to a sitting position with the clink-clink of chains, eyes catching for a brief moment on a toilet at the foot of his... bed? ...in the corner of the small room he sat in. His eyes were drawn away from it first by the wall behind it, which seemed to be covered in lush blue, velvety cushions. His eyes were drawn away from that wall by the claustrophobic smallness of the room he had awoken it. And then his eyes were drawn away from <em>that</em> by a foreign feeling of weight around his wrists and laying atop his crossed legs: he found that a pair of manacles were fastened to his wrists, connected to each other by a long chain of thick iron links that had fallen into a bunched-up pile between his knees. Knees that, like his arms and torso, were glad in clothing bearing a raggedy black-and-white striped pattern, like an old cartoon prisoner's uniform from the days before prisons adopted bright orange and other color schemes designed to make sure inmates could be seen easily in the dark or at a distance.</p><p>He looked up; there was also a chain constructed of diamond-shaped links hanging down from the blue ceiling against the soft padding of the back wall, swaying slowly to and fro in spite of there being no wind or anything nearby to have provoked any such motion. For a moment, Ren stared at it as if hypnotized by its swaying movement and soft clinking rhythm. Then a soft chuckle, a girlish chuckle, snapped him out of it. He turned and swung his legs over the edge of the "bed" he lay upon, which was in actuality a narrow, too-firm-for-comfort cot.</p><p>A prison cot, he realized, as he turned his head to where the light was filtering in and saw the blue metal bars there. A cell door, further secured on his side by two more of those chains with diamond-shaped links, which were fastened over it in the shape of an "X." The light, while not bright, took a few moments to adjust his eyes to...</p><p>As he blinked and his vision came into focus, two diminutive figures stepped into view from either side of the cell door (for that was clearly what the bars were). Two young girls, identical twins it looked like, dressed in clothes that matched the blue of everything else around here, but with golden buttons and trim here and there. The clothes were in the style of something like prison wardens, and they both wore an eyepatch over an eye... the twin who had emerged from the left of the bars wore it on her right eye, and the twin who had emerged on the right wore it over the left. Both eyepatches were black but bore gold-colored embroidery in a fancy design incorporating the English letter "V." Or was it the Roman numeral for "five?"</p><p>Their youth made Ren think of children playing dress-up with Halloween costumes, but the outfits were expertly tailored and authentic-looking. The effect was only slightly ruined but the high-cut shorts both girls wore in place of what such a uniform would have incorporated in the real world.</p><p>Ren stood, and moved to get a closer look at them, but stumbled slightly as something caught around his left ankle. He looked down and was... less surprised than he probably should have been to find a chain shackled to his leg, connecting it solidly to a large, immovable iron ball.</p><p>A ball and chain. Well, Ren thought irritably... didn't that just finish off the look and feel of a cartoon prison inmate perfectly? He looked back up at the twin "wardens." One of them, on the left, was gazing at him impassively. The other had a faint, superior smirk playing at her lips.</p><p>Then, in perfect synchronicity, they turned toward each other, then around, stepping gracefully to both sides away from the bars... parting to give him a view of what lay beyond.</p><p>The sight was a jolt to Ren's system. He barely had room in his brain for the circular room outside his blue-barred, padded cell. He didn't pay any attention to the matching barred doors that lined the walls around that room, or to the circular, blue-with-gold-trim rug that stood upon the blue-bricked floor at its center. For upon that rug stood a simple, yet elegant wooden table-desk on four curved legs. The objects set upon that desk were so mundane as to be almost out of place in the setting — a fancy gold desk lamp on the right-hand sand (Ren's left), a white-and-blue feather quill pen set at a slant in a grayish display stand just beyond that lamp, a utilitarian intercom microphone next to the quill (though there didn't seem to be any wires trailing out of it, nor any nearby devices it could have wirelessly connected to), and, on the opposite side of the desk, an intimidating stack of paperwork.</p><p>If the setting made such mundane items seem odd, the figure who sat in the blue-backed chair on the opposite side of the table desk only enhanced the effect. Wide, bloodshot eyes gazed at Ren over gloved hands upon which a wide chin sat at rest; sharp, wild black eyebrows jutted out over those eyes, giving them an altogether evil look. The light from the ceiling above (Ren couldn't see where it was streaming in from) gleamed atop the figure's bald head. Around that gleam, wispy strands of white-gray hair hung down over the man's shoulders... shoulders clad in a black suit. Pointed ears poked out in both directions, holding that white hair back from curtaining around the front of the man's head. An absurdly long, pointed nose speared out and down over the gloved hands, easily the most eye-catching feature after those freakish eyes.</p><p>Shifting at last, the staring long-nosed man unseated his wide chin from atop his hands and extended the silk-gloved fingers of his right hand as if in welcome. Ren shivered; the arm and the fingers were both just a little too long and spidery to look human. Fitting in with the grimly cartoonish impression Ren had of his clothes, surroundings, and even of the twin warden girls... this long-nosed man looked like some kind of cartoon or anime character rendered in live-action flesh and blood. It hit Ren with the worst case of uncanny-valley discomfort he'd ever experienced in his life.</p><p>The too-wide, toothy smile beneath that nose was almost worse.</p><p>"Trickster..." the long-nosed man said, in a deep and resonant voice. "Welcome to my Velvet Room."</p><p>As if the words snapped Ren out of a stupor, he was suddenly gripped by the fear and confusion that should have been present from the start. He pulled at the bars fruitlessly, pointlessly. To his right, a mocking voice chirped up from the mouth of one of their two wardens, who turned her head to glance back at him from the corner of her eye.</p><p>"So you've come to, Inmate," she said.</p><p>The other twin turned her head as her sister had done, and spoke in calm monotone: "The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream."</p><p>Before Ren could even begin to process that, the first twin snapped, "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!"</p><p>This, of course, drew Ren's attention right back to the long-nosed man at the table-desk.</p><p>"Welcome," said the so-called master. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."</p><p>Well, that just explained everything, didn't it? Ren looked down and to the side as the master spoke, his eyes catching on an open slot in the bars next to his cell door... a slot with a flat metal shelf affixed to it, on top of which sat an unadorned metal tray: clearly the slot, shelf, and tray were for delivering meals to the cell's occupant. So whatever prison this was didn't even have meals in a mess hall like prisons in the "real world" did. What a depressing dream.</p><p>"I am Igor, the master of this place." The drumming of said master's fingers on the tabletop drew Ren's gaze upward again. "Remember it well," Igor added. "I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."</p><p>Important matters? Some some dream kidnapper wanted to <em>talk</em>, did he? Ren gritted his teeth, and tugged hard on the bars of his cell door, rattling his cage. "<em>Let me out,</em>" he snarled, and opened his mouth to tell this Igor just what he thought of being <em>summoned</em> here to <em>speak of important matters,</em> but—</p><p>
  <em>SLAM!</em>
</p><p>A loud impact and crackle of sparks erupted from the bars to Ren's right; he flinched back involuntarily from the mild shock that buzzed through his hands.</p><p>"Know your place, Inmate! Who do you think you're talking to?!" barked the twin on the right.</p><p>The mocking twin had snapped out a collapsible stun baton quicker than blinking and swung it into the bars of his cell. From the brightness of the flash, Ren had no doubt that it would have laid him out flat if it had struck him directly, regardless of the mocking warden's size.</p><p>Unperturbed, the thing called Igor leaned up from where his elbow rested on his desk and turned his long nose up and around, surveying the space around him. "Still, this <em>is</em> a surprise..." he remarked. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such."</p><p>Ren, who had been about to snap at the mocking twin, was given a moment's pause at that. On some level, it made sense. If he was dreaming, as the serious twin had claimed, then why wouldn't the room look like some abstract thing his own brain had dug up? He'd spent more than a few nights in lock-up, and the memory of that was fresh. So he was dreaming, and this was his stupid frizzy brain's Looney Tunes way of processing that, huh?</p><p>How quaint.</p><p>"You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate," Igor mused. Ren moved to grip the bars again, calmer now... calm that was swiftly blown away by Igor's next words: "In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."</p><p><em>Are you kidding me?!</em> Ren wanted to burst out, but he drew in a steadying breath, and instead asked, "Ruin...?" hoping to prompt Igor for an explanation. Of all times, only now did he notice the set of off-white intercom speakers hanging from the ceiling above Igor's head. There was still no sign of anything that might have connected them to Igor's desk microphone.</p><p>"I speak of the end to everything," Igor said seriously. "However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. Indeed, it would seem that our game is already afoot. The pieces are moving even as we speak to each other now. This is why I was moved to call you here just a little sooner than I had planned..."</p><p>Igor chuckled softly. For a moment, Ren was convinced he could see some kind of triumphant glint in those bloodshot eyes, but Igor went on as if this tangent was unimportant.</p><p>"You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated toward freedom..." Igor said. "That is your only means to avoid ruin."</p><p>The long-nosed man let those incomprehensible words hang in the air, and Ren felt his hackles rise. Rehabilitated, huh? Right, sure. If common human decency was a trait that should be <em>rehabilitated </em>out of people, he'd plead guilty to that charge. But even here in his dreams he felt his throat close up, knowing that his words would be wasted if he told this man that he was innocent, that he had done nothing <em>wrong.</em> He didn't need to be reformed or "rehabilitated." He just...</p><p>...God dammit.</p><p>But then Igor spoke again, cutting across Ren's thoughts:</p><p>"...Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"</p><p>Ren stared blankly through the bars. When he had finally collected enough brain cells to respond, his highly intellectual reply was:</p><p>"...Wait, what?"</p><p>"You didn't decline, hm? Very well, that is enough," Igor said. The long-nosed man seemed amused, although it was hard to tell. That overly wide grinning mouth seemed permanently fixed in an amused state. "Allow me to observe the... <em>path</em> of your rehabilitation."</p><p>The two twins, who Ren had mentally labeled as Serious on the left and Mocking on the right, sidestepped together like a closing gate in front of Ren's cell door and spun around with the same synchronous military precision that they had moved with before. As they stared at him with unnaturally golden-yellow eyes, Igor spoke absently.</p><p>"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."</p><p>Mocking Twin, whose name was Caroline, stood with her hands positioned behind her back and her stun baton poking up behind her right shoulder. "Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like," she mocked.</p><p>Serious Twin, whose name was Justine, stood with an over-sized wooden clipboard under one arm, looking like the arm was only just long enough to hold it there. "The duty of wardens is to protect inmates," she said seriously. "We are also your collaborators... that is, if you remain obedient."</p><p>"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion," Igor said.</p><p>As it were an expected cue, the twin wardens turned their backs on Ren's cell. Ren took note for the first time of the only other difference he could see between the two twins: mocking Caroline wore her platinum-blond hair in two small, tight buns behind her ears, while serious Justine had meticulous braided her hair from behind her ears into a single long braided ponytail that reached the small of her back.</p><p>Igor shifted in his chair, resting his wide jaw on one hand and drumming his right hand's white-gloved fingers on the tabletop again. "Now then, it seems you have nearly reached your destination... it is almost time," he said. "Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."</p><p>And Igor waved his hand. A ringing wake-up alarm erupted from the ceiling intercom. Caroline spun around to face Ren.</p><p>"Time's up," she said briskly. "Now hurry up and go back to sleep."</p><p>What? No! Ren jumped at the bars, wanting to ask Igor for a real explanation of just what the hell was going on. But even as he made what should have been a very high-energy, adrenaline-pumping expression of his sudden panic, his eyelids began to feel so heavy...</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>A vibration in his pocket Ren jolted awake with a gasp. The train's shaking motion and the unfamiliar feel of glasses-frames resting on his nose and ears prompted a small exhale of relief. He was awake and whatever the strange, too-vivid dream of a too-blue cartoon jail cell and a long-nosed old prison master had been... it didn't matter anymore.</p><p>And he had forgotten to turn on his phone's audio when he had set the alarm, which was why it was currently vibrating like mad from his inside pocket. Oops.</p><p>He pulled out his phone sleepily and unlocked it, tapping the button that would dismiss the alarm. No, he remembered, he hadn't forgotten to turn the audio on; he'd made the conscious decision to set the alarm app itself to vibration-only mode because he hadn't wanted to be a bother to the other passengers. Normally, he remembered, it would blare music out at him even if the phone itself was set to silent, and Ren didn't want to disturb anyone else on the train...</p><p>The train's polite female intercom voice piped up, as if on cue, so scripted and proper that Ren was sure it had to be pre-recorded: "<em>Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines.</em>"</p><p>Ren looked up, took a breath, and settled himself. Well, it was time. According to his itinerary, he needed to disembark at the train station at the end of the line, then walk for about ten minutes to the Shibuya subway station. He would catch a quick train from there to Yongen-Jaya...</p><p>Another glance at his phone told him that, in spite of the train delay, it was right around the end of a standard-length school day. Perfect. He figured that would give him time to find the address that had been written down for him and introduce himself. And, as he had hoped it could time it for, he wouldn't have to explain to any well-meaning police officers that he had just arrived in town by train and would be starting his first day at a new school on Monday.</p><p>Ren blinked the last of the sleep from his eyes and stretched his back as much as he could without moving from his seat and disturbing the other passengers. A faint grin stretched across his face.</p><p><em>Well, whatever that weird dream was really about,</em> he thought, <em>I feel better than I have in a good while... guess the power nap did its job after all.</em></p><p>"What, are you for real? A mental shutdown?"</p><p>An incredulous teenage girl's voice cut across Ren's thoughts. He glanced over at the speaker. A pair of high school girls, wearing a different uniform than his. They must have hopped the train with their student pass a station or two back, he figured.</p><p>"It's the truth!" the second girl insisted.</p><p>"To a person, though? That's gotta be a joke," the first girl laughed. "You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"</p><p>The other girl giggled in response. As he tended to, Ren tuned them out as soon as he was sure that what they were talking about was something he had no interest in. Some kind of silly occult scam online, he figured. At least their lives were simpler than his, Ren mused ruefully before putting it out of his mind.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>The day had been such a blur of train stations and the pedestrian-stuffed sidewalks of Okina that Ren hadn't expected to take much note of Tokyo once he got there. And the train station did not disappoint in this regard, even if it seemed larger and more crowded than the stations Ren had traversed so far on this trip. That was to be expected of the most populous metropolitan prefecture in Japan, so he didn't pay it much mind.</p><p>The city streets... were a different story. As a country boy born and bred, however much boredom he had always felt about being raised out in the sticks, Ren felt wrong-footed almost as soon as he stepped out of the station onto the sidewalk and tried to get his bearings. Even Okina City seemed worlds away from <em>this</em> kind of crazy. Ren had already been planning on it to begin with, but he definitely needed to use his navigation app to find his way around here.</p><p>So many streets, so many intersections, and so many people... probably the most surreal thing about all this was that Ren knew he had no hope of remembering anyone's faces here. He'd never had any problems with that back home. </p><p><em>In fact, the only face from back home that I can't remember off the top of my head is... that man's face,</em> Ren thought unhappily, staring at the navigation arrow on his phone's screen as it slowly made its way up this city block. <em>I remember the woman I stepped in to save just fine, but that man was covering his face with his hand half the time, and in the rush of things that happened after, I...</em></p><p>Ren shook his head to dislodge the thought. He would have time for more moping once he'd done everything he needed to do today and settled down in bed.</p><p>As he saw the arrow nearing a large intersection on his GPS display, Ren looked up and felt his eyes widen at the site before him. He'd seen it on television, in video games and anime and stuff, but usually from a bird's eye view above and not from ground level in the thick of it. And the sight had always been so unbelievable to him that he'd wondered if it was some kind of anime exaggeration of what Tokyo pedestrian traffic must look like.</p><p>But here it was, right in front of him, and seeing was believing.</p><p>People here, people there, people everywhere. All across the wide four-point intersection, pedestrians were crossing as if they were rivers flowing across each others' paths. Though there clearly were designated crosswalks for each street on the intersection and even a pair of them forming a striped white "X" across the center, no one seemed to be paying the designated boundaries for pedestrian travel any mind whatsoever. Probably, Ren thought, because if they had bothered with that formality, pedestrian traffic would swiftly bottleneck in literally every direction it could here.</p><p>Above the churning sea of head, Ren could see the large screens that were such an iconic feature of this city, but as he focused on one to try and get a better look—</p><p>
  <em>Beep.</em>
</p><p>Ren looked down at his phone, wondering if it was a low-battery alert. He found himself staring at the GPS. The arrow that indicated his position on the GPS had been obscured by something, and he couldn't make heads or tails of it. It looked like an app icon, but why would that show up in his navigator? It was creepy-looking in an edgy sort of way, too, all red-and-black sharp angles with an eye icon design. The eye's round red iris housed a black star-shape for a pupil. Weird.</p><p>Cool, but weird. It looked stoutly out-of-shape against the backdrop of Ren's dry and utilitarian GPS navigation app.</p><p>And then, as Ren watched, the icon grew and expanded to cover almost the entire lower half of his phone's screen, obscuring most of the map along with the arrow. Resisting a grimace, Ren tapped the enlarged red-and-black eye design. It looked like it had become some sort of message window, but no message displayed and it didn't show any sign of a close-window button, either.</p><p>Nor did it respond at all when he tapped it. <em>Great,</em> Ren thought, tapping it a few more times in his frustration. <em>Barely off the train and I've got some kind of malware on my phone. City life is already looking so bright and happy for me.</em></p><p>Not that Ren had any idea where he could have picked up such a thing. He wasn't big on computer stuff, but he knew better than to mess with untrustworthy apps and websites. So, what on Earth was <em>this</em> fresh hell?</p><p>It was as this thought crossed his mind that <em>this fresh hell</em> got a whole lot weirder.</p><p>As if it had snagged on something, the sound of the pedestrian chatter around Ren deepened and slowed, and then stopped entirely. He looked up, and felt his heart nearly stop... as the pedestrians had done.</p><p>All of them. Every single one. As he turned his head to look out at the crossing he even saw them slowing to <em>complete</em> motionlessness, and suddenly he was standing in the middle of a throng of completely frozen students, salarymen, and other assorted background characters of life.</p><p>They hadn't stopped walking. They had been frozen mid-step, mid-turn, mid-laugh, mid-grumble. Basically flash-frozen in time wherever they had been when the freezing happened.</p><p>Ren wondered if he'd never woken up from the "Velvet Room" dream in the first place, if maybe this were one of those dreams where you woke up from a nightmare only to find that you were still dreaming when some other horrible thing happened. Ren desperately hoped it was, as he stared at a man on a bicycle-rider on one of the crosswalks. It stood as still as everyone else was now, perfectly balanced in spite of that, with its rider half-standing on the pedals.</p><p>Ren looked left, right, behind, all around. Everywhere it was the same story. Then he turned back around to face the large screens across the intersection, and saw it. Flames. Ethereal blue flames, in the same shade as the walls of the Velvet Room.</p><p>Weirdly, the sight calmed him down. A dream then, he thought, and allowed himself to gaze into the fire. The dream had remembered to include his glasses on his face this time, Ren noted. The fire flares and grew and took shape into something large and humanoid, with arms and legs and protrusions that looked like they might be wings, and even a weirdly-shaped head. Or was it a really tall hat?</p><p>Then, something flickered in the flames? A madly victorious grinning face with eerie yellow eyes... <em>his own face.</em></p><p>Without fanfare, the flames and the face were gone, and the world was moving again. The eerie silence gave way to a rush of urban white noise. Ren looked around. Everyone was going on their way like normal. Even the biker guy was rolling out of sight. No one but Ren seemed to look like they had noticed anything at all...</p><p>...Which probably meant he had nodded off on his feet and had some sort of fleeting dream before snapping awake. Maybe the power nap hadn't done much good after all.</p><p>Ren looked at his phone and, to his chagrin, the weird app icon was still there. It hadn't grown to cover half the screen. No doubt that had been a product of his dream, too. But maybe seeing the creepy thing had been what inspired the dream.</p><p>Which was more than enough reason on its own to consign the app to oblivion, never mind malware concerns. Ren held his finger down over the icon and dragged it down to the trash can at the bottom-middle of the phone. He was surprised, but satisfied, when the icon slid inside without any fuss.</p><p>With that, he dove into the sea of people, bound once more for the subway train that would take him to Yongen-Jaya. Tonight, Ren decided, he was going to bed early.</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>Ren had heard various descriptions of the Tokyo subway. And even though the train into town had been more crowded when he'd woken up than when he'd fallen asleep, he still hadn't been prepared for the constant skin-itchy feeling that he no longer had any personal space. He had clutched his carry-on bag tightly to his chest and remained as still as he could against the wall until at last the intercom had announced their stop at Yongen-Jaya Station, and he'd stepped out feeling a childish urge to theatrically throw himself upon the ground and kiss the train platform in gratitude for the blessing that was solid, unmoving ground.</p><p>Not being inclined to make a public ass of himself and get arrested again, Ren just moved on to the next wonder of city life. Which turned out to be a different kind of claustrophobia: Yongen, it seemed, was a neighborhood constructed of extremely narrow pedestrian alleyways with housing, apartments, and businesses crammed in wherever room could be found among the buildings.</p><p>Bemused, Ren looked around. His attention caught briefly on a leggy woman in sexy platform heels and a doctor's coat strolling down the alley amidst the other comers and goers, but the sight didn't distract him the way it would have under normal circumstances. This place was going to be his home for the next year, and Ren really didn't know what to feel about it.</p><p>He looked down at his phone, taking a moment to count to five and collect his frazzled nerves: the damn thing told him he'd already reached his destination, which meant he needed to find the specific address the old-fashioned way.</p><p>Things didn't get much easier from there. After gathering his courage to ask a stern-looking street cop for directions, he made his way past a grocery store and an apartment building to a house that did indeed have the Sakura name on its nameplate, a tiny little home squeezed into the corner of an alley next to the outer street about two feet behind a small stone fence that stood as high as Ren's hairline with an iron gate in front of the door that left maybe five feet between it and the house.</p><p>But no one seemed to be home. A delivery truck driver who had arrived while Ren was waiting at the bell had said something about a café in a back alley called Leblanc. That was lucky; it gave Ren something to work with when he returned in defeat to the police officer and asked for directions again. And it turned out that Café Leblanc wasn't even that far away from the house, just a left at the corner and then another left, and there it was. The red-and-white awning and homey-looking little door beneath it would have been easy to miss in this neighborhood if Ren hadn't been looking for it.</p><p>A bell tinkled softly over the door as Ren stepped in and looked around. It was a narrow, classy-looking little place, and the scent of curry and coffee beans was immediately comforting. But it wasn't much different from what Ren would have expected of such a business in his hometown, apart from the long narrowness of the building. There were only three booths in total on the left side of the restaurant, and only five tall, standalone wooden chairs set along the coffee bar. Doing some quick math in his head, Ren figured that meant the place had a capacity of seventeen people plus staff. Somehow he doubted that it ever had so many people inside it, though.</p><p>There only seemed to be three people in the building. As the sound of a flatscreen television in the back corner floated through Ren's ears, he looked from one to the next, trying to figure out which of them could be Sojiro Sakura. He hadn't exactly been given a description, but he guessed from the name that the little old lady at the booth was probably not him...</p><p>A tabloid news show was playing, and the host's voice distracted Ren for a moment: "—<em>a public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it!</em>" he said, impassioned and sincere by the standards of such a network. "<em>The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up.</em>"</p><p>"How frightening," said an old man who sat in the booth opposite the little old lady.</p><p>"What could be going on?" said the little old lady. "Didn't something similar happen just the other day?"</p><p>At which point the third occupant, a middle-aged man in half-moon glasses with a black, curling point of a beard and a receding hairline, muttered something about the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming. He was wearing a dark-colored apron over his buttoned shirt, so Ren deduced he was the owner, but he sat on one of the chairs in front of the counter, rather than behind it. His leg was crossed over the other knee and he had a newspaper open atop it, pen hovering inches above. He was doing crosswords during the lull in his business, then.</p><p>But Ren figured that of the three, the owner was most likely to either be Sojiro Sakura or know where the man was. Ren's parents wouldn't have burdened such an elderly couple with his guardianship, and even if the owner wasn't Sakura-san himself, he would know a thing or two about his regulars. Ren turned toward the man and made a soft throat-clearing noise to get his attention.</p><p>The man looked up. "...Oh, right," said the man. He stood up and set the newspaper down on the counter. "I expected you to arrive later in the evening."</p><p>Ren nodded in polite greeting. So this man was indeed Sojiro Sakura, then. Before either of them could say any more, the old man at the booth heaved himself up to his feet. "We'll be going now. The payment's on the table," he said.</p><p>Sakura said in a polite voice, "Thanks for coming," and the old man laughed.</p><p>"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here."</p><p>Ren blinked, and Sakura stared. The barista spoke the words as if he'd plucked them from Ren's very brain matter: "A what, now?"</p><p>"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know," the old man said soberly. "I just hope that none happen around here."</p><p>The barista said something about it not being his concern, the old man gave a cheerful goodbye, and Ren moved aside to let them leave. The door jingled as it opened, clicked shut... and Sojiro Sakura's businesslike aura fell away. He groaned.</p><p>"Four hours, for just a single cup of joe," he groused, then turned toward the teenager who remained and gave him a critical once-over. Casually, he asked, "So, you're Ren?"</p><p>"Please take care of me," Ren said formally, keeping his expression schooled neutral. It was time to get on the whole making-a-good-impression thing.</p><p>Sakura grunted in a noncommittal way and then grinned in a way that looked like it took a bit of effort but was... charming, in its way, like this man had gotten a lot of practice being charming while running a back-alley coffee shop.</p><p>"I'm Sojiro Sakura," he introduced himself. "You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what sort of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?"</p><p>Mentally, Ren thanked his mother for the glasses and his own foresight in deciding to wear his uniform properly buttoned-up without any adornment. Together, it must have made for a pretty respectable look by the standards of high school boys.</p><p>But whatever credit his good looks might have bought him, the man slid right back into serious mode a moment later.</p><p>"Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other, and—" Sakura began, then he heaved out a sigh and changed tracks. "Well, not that that matters... Follow me."</p><p>He turned and, keeping his nerves down through an effort of will and forced optimism, Ren followed. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn't being led up the narrow staircase at the back of the café. When he emerged behind Sakura at the top, he found himself in a large, cluttered, dusty attic. Piles of random items were just stuffed away to one side of the room; it looked like space had been cleared haphazardly up here not long ago, from the dust tracks Ren could see on the floor.</p><p>Just as Ren was wondering if Sojiro Sakura meant to set him doing chores up here or something, the barista said, "This is your room."</p><p>Ren stared at Sakura blankly as the man turned to look at him. "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed," he said. But then, looking at Ren's face, he observed, "You look like you wanna say something."</p><p>So much for a good first impression, Ren thought. He must have failed to keep the exasperation off of his face. Awkwardly, he just said, "...It's big."</p><p>"It's on you to clean up the rest—" Sakura began, but a jingling sound from below cut him off. Just as Ren was stepping aside to let Sakura get downstairs to assist his customer, a loud, almost grating female voice announced dramatically from the first floor:</p><p>"I exist! Here I am, Boss!"</p><p>This was met with silence and then a groan from Sakura. "Come with me," he said, and went right back down the stairs.</p><p>Ren followed Sakura down the stairs but remained out of sight on the second step, listening to the scoffing voice of another girl that seemed to be teasing the dramatic one. "Kyo-san, you can't just walk into the place and announce yourself like that!" it said.</p><p>"Shut your crepe hole, Personal Space Invader! You don't get t' lecture <em>me</em> about propriety!" That was the dramatic one. Ren recognized the dialect as Osaka-ben, but there was something a little off about it, like maybe it was just an imitation of the speech patterns.</p><p>"Settle down, settle down," Ren heard Sakura grumble. "I asked <em>you</em> to come, Morinaga. I never said anything about bringing your friends here."</p><p>A third voice, polite and sheepish, spoke an apology that made Ren think the speaker must be bowing along with it. "I'm so sorry, um... are you the owner? This is my fault. I asked Kyo for some, uh, for some help today."</p><p>The dramatic one, who Ren supposed must be Kyo, stomped away from the door and said, "Don't apologize for me, Shiho! But yeah, it's my fault, sorry. I kinda, uh, dragged my friend away from club for the day. I won't apologize for Personal Space Invader here, though. She came along for the ride her own stupid self."</p><p>"Hey!" protested the second girl, who Ren assumed was the “Personal Space Invader.”</p><p>"Of course it was your fault," Sakura groused, but then, calling back toward Ren: "Hey, kid, I told you to get down here."</p><p>Ren took a deep breath. Three girls, and at least two of them <em>sounded</em> cute. Checking himself over quickly to make sure he hadn't gotten dust on his uniform, he stepped down onto ground floor and strolled out to the counter. Two girls and a boy were there, contrary to his initial impression, and...</p><p>...Oh, wait, no. The third one was a girl, she just happened to be wearing the same boy's uniform he was. But it looked like all three of them attended the same school he was transferring to.</p><p>Immediately the girl in the boy's uniform, who had leaned against the counter by the yellow public dial-phone, pushed off and slid nimbly past Sakura without so much as an excuse-me-sir. The barista scowled without heat at her back. Ren raised his eyebrows as she came to a stop in front of him. She had to look up to meet Ren's eyes; she was <em>that short</em>. Her hair was a boyish mop of unruly fir-tree green, curtaining over the left side of her face as if she were some kind of rocker.</p><p>"Hiya," said the boyish girl, stuffing her hands into her pants pockets. "I'm Kyo. So you're the job, huh?"</p><p>Ren said the only intelligent thing possible in the face of such a question. "...Excuse me?"</p><p>"The job," Kyo repeated as if there was nothing unusual about referring to Ren in such a way. "Sojiro said he had a job for me and that he'd teach me some o' those mad curry-cookin' skills if I did it for him! So you're a transfer student."</p><p>Sakura sighed and sat down on the same chair he'd occupied earlier. "I'd have put that less tactlessly," said the barista. He looked back at the other two girls, who stood awkwardly by the door. Ren took a look over Kyo's head at them as well, and found that they were both as pretty as their voices had been. One, a blonde with curves in all the right places and big, glamorous twintails, wore an open hooded sweat-jacket over her uniform and had added tight leggings. The other, who wore her black hair in a ponytail and had gentle eyes, sported a uniform without fanfare... but she wore it well.</p><p>"The pretty one's Shiho Suzui. The loud one's Ann Takamaki. They're both second-years," Kyo said with a vague gesture over her shoulder.</p><p>"Oh, <em>darn you</em>, Kyo-san!" blurted the twintailed girl. So that was "Personal Space Invader." Just as Ren thought he wouldn't have minded that girl invading his personal space, the other, who was blushing, ducked her head.</p><p>"D-don't tease Ann so much, Kyo," said the girl who had to be Shiho. Ren felt laughter bubbling up in his gut for the first time since he'd been arrested and had to put a fist to his mouth to force it back down. Sakura huffed.</p><p>"Well, if you two are going to be loitering here, loiter somewhere away from the door," he ordered. "Find yourselves a seat. This won't take long."</p><p>"Ah... yes, sir, and thank you," Shiho said.</p><p>"Got it! Sorry for all of this, sir," said Ann, whose cheeks had tinged pink. Ren brought his hand up to his glasses and adjusted them as a cover for appreciating the two cuties in front of him while they made their way to the middle booth and slid in. He sent another silent thank-you to his mother for the useful accessory...</p><p>...and a snort of quiet laughter drew his eyes down to Kyo, who was looking up at him with a knowing gleam in her eye and a smirk playing at her lips.</p><p>"Cute, ain't they?" she whispered. When he chose not to react, she raised her eyebrows and said at normal volume, "Well, ain't <em>you</em> Mr. Unflappable. So, what's your label, Abel? And what would it take t' make ya blush?" Sakura sent her a grumpy look behind her back.</p><p>The frizzy-haired boy allowed the ghost of a smirk to surface. "Ren Amamiya," he answered. "And <em>that </em>would be telling."</p><p>Kyo grinned warmly and clapped him on the arm. Instead of addressing Ren directly, she said, "Four house blends with orders o' your special curry, boss! Let's have us a welcome t' town party, on me!"</p><p>Obviously flat-footed, Sakura seemed to have some trouble sliding back into business mode. "Four? Right, right. Coming right up," he said, getting up from his chair to resume his place in the kitchen. A hinged portion of the bar by the door was his chosen access point this time; Ren hadn't noticed it on the way in. When he drew level with Ren, though, he stopped and turned gruffly toward the group. "This," he said, pointing to the green-haired girl, "is Kyo Morinaga. She's an upperclassman at your school, so she can help you get adjusted. As for the first job, though—" (He gave Kyo another one of those unheated scowls.) "—<em>you</em> get to help this kid clean up the attic. I can't let him stay at home, and my back's no good for that kind of work. But you have all those damn muscles, punk, so you can put them to good use for a change."</p><p>If Sakura expected Kyo to complain like Ren expected it... well, they were both disappointed. Kyo hopped onto the chair Sakura had just vacated, crossed her leg over her knee like a boy, and said, "Sure thing, boss!"</p><p>"He has to stay in the attic?" Shiho asked, sounding concerned. "Well, I'm sure we can make it work if we all help out."</p><p>Ann froze in her seat, looking a little less willing, but melted when Shiho gave her a pleading look. "Oh, alright, sure. I'll help, too," she said, and turned a polite smile toward Ren. "But first, curry, I guess. I'm not that big on spicy foods, but Kyo-san keeps talking this place up. So, I admit I'm curious. Well, Amamiya-san, let's talk!"</p><p>"Aren't <em>you</em> lucky," Kyo drawled, with a roguish grin directed at Ren. "gettin' t' have dinner with three cuties on your first evenin' in Tokyo..."</p><p>Shiho sighed, Ann spluttered, and Ren decided not to mention that Kyo looked too boyish to really be considered "cute..." especially if she had the kind of muscles Sakura hinted she did. That might not have gone over so well. So he grabbed a seat at the bar, turned it around, and made small talk with the three girls until Sakura returned with their orders.</p><p>...It was good! Not that Ren was any judge, but he'd never had coffee quite this nice, and it went well with the curry. He could taste complex flavors beneath the bold spiciness. It looked like this little coffee-and-curry shop was something of a hidden gem in the concrete jungle. Considering that the kitchen here didn't seem equipped to make much else <em>besides</em> curry, though, Ren had a feeling he'd need to embark on an expedition to find some different places to eat soon.</p><p>After a bit of a tense start, it seemed like things were looking just a tiny bit brighter for him now. Maybe the attic bedroom situation would win him sympathy points with one of the two girls who were actually kind of cute?</p><p>
  <strong>~</strong>
</p><p>"...Is that mattress propped up on plastic buckets?" Shiho asked, staring at the offending piece of makeshift furniture. "Wouldn't it be more comfortable to just plop it down on the floor?"</p><p>"Wait, seriously?" Ann asked, stepping past Shiho for a closer look. "Wow."</p><p>"Yes," Kyo said dully. "Yes it is. Looks sturdy enough, though. Looks like Sojiro put some stuff under the buckets t' stop 'em slidin' around. Might not wanna mess with it."</p><p>She set the mop and bucket she'd retrieved from downstairs on the floor next to the box that contained Ren's essentials from home and knelt by the bed to get a closer look under the hood. Shiho and Ann turned solemnly toward Ren, wearing identical looks of pity on their faces. It looked like he'd won those sympathy points after all.</p><p>Ren hadn't even noticed that part. After the four of them had finished their meals and Ren had excused himself to change into something he didn't mind doing manual labor in, Sakura had shooed them upstairs, saying he didn't want a bunch of teenagers scaring off his regulars. Once they'd followed him up to his "room," which didn't resemble one closely enough for anyone involved to care about three girls visiting a boy's room at the same time, he could finally take stock of the mess, and boy was it a mess. The "bed" was just as the girls had observed, and Ren could live with that.</p><p>The big thing was the pile of <em>stuff</em> that had been shoved against the right-hand wall, Ren thought as he turned in place to survey the disaster area. He figured he could get most of that stuff out of the way into the space behind the stairs if he got a bit creative with his Inventory Tetris strats. There was a shelf stuffed with bags of coffee bean stock near the stairs, and Ren obviously didn't want to mess with that, but if he shifted it around he could probably stuff his box of luggage in there and call it a dresser for the year.</p><p>There was a workbench in the corner he could use as a desk of he unburied it from all those books... a dusty sofa, a dusty table next to the sofa that he could probably use for a television if he could find one cheap. And there was a shelf buried in yet more books...</p><p>The biggest part of the job was probably all the dust, though. Even as he thought this, Ann ran her finger over the couch cushions and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "This probably hasn't been touched in years," she said. "Sakura-san expects someone to <em>live</em> here?"</p><p>Kyo hummed in thought, still examining the underside of Ren's bed. "Probably it was a rush job," the green-haired girl observed. "He brought it up all sudden-like t' me around the end o' march, and I doubt he'd've asked me like that if he'd had time t' come up with a real plan. That was just before the start o' school."</p><p>The green-haired girl stood up, put her hands on her hips, and hummed to herself.</p><p>"But that house is definitely big enough t' have another room, and Boss is a bit old for bringin' women home. He must have a teenage daughter and I just haven't seen her around, I guess. Tough luck for you, Ren, but we can make this place work."</p><p>Ren had hefted up the cardboard box by this point and was setting it down on the long table by the stairway railing. He thought there might be a simpler explanation for why Sakura didn't want to let him into the house, but he wasn't about to bring that up in front of two cute girls (or a complete stranger like Kyo, for that matter).</p><p>"Eh, it's whatever," he said easily. "I owe you three for the help. Well, maybe not the one who was hired to help, but you two don't have to do this."</p><p>"Oh, it's totally fine!" Ann said brightly, heading over to the pile of stuff by the wall. But she wilted and said, "Agh, I'm gonna get dust all over me once I start moving things. Shoot me a text later, Shiho, so I don't forget to do some laundry tonight."</p><p>Shiho stepped up to the pile, grinning at her friend's discomfort. "It's good practice for when you're a nice, demure Japanese housewife, Ann," she said innocently.</p><p>"Ew, no. I'm marrying someone in America so I can kick back eating sweets when I get home," Ann said decisively. "In front of a really, really big TV. Every night, no exceptions."</p><p>"So unladylike," Shiho stage-whispered.</p><p>"Hush, you, and help me get this ladder! Who keeps a ladder in an attic, anyway? How would you even get this out of here to use it?!"</p><p>"Probably through the window," Kyo guessed. "But that might be a thing that's sat in here since the previous owner sold the place. All the books're outta place, too."</p><p>Ann and Shiho were bending down to get a grip on the ladder. Ren got down on one knee next to the ladder, too, figuring it would be rude to let two girls handle something so heavy on their own. The three of them looked over at the books, and Ren nodded.</p><p>"Makes sense," he said. "I didn't really think about it, but those books look difficult."</p><p>"Maybe it was a bookstore before Sakura-san turned it into a restaurant?" Shiho guessed, looking through the rest of the junk. "Oh, that's useful. There's a space-heater in here, and... oh! That poor plant! It's still alive, but... Amamiya-san, you'd better nurse this poor thing back to health, you hear me?"</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," Ren chuckled. As he and the two girls hefted up the ladder to put it somewhere out of the way, he couldn't help grinning like an idiot. When he'd first set foot in the attic an hour before, he'd expected this would be one dreary first night in town, but...</p><p>"...Huh, y'know," he heard Kyo say, "once all these books're dusted off, Boss could probably sell 'em for a <em>nice</em> chunk o' change. I'll run the idea by 'im on my way out."</p><p>...ha, even the tomboy with the mouth was growing on him. It was shaping up to be a fun night. Maybe Tokyo wouldn't be so bad after all.</p><p>It took the four of them about two hours to clear out all the junk, after which the poor malnourished plant was set next to a clean and pristine... storage shelf, the space heater was tucked into a corner to await the winter months, and all of the books had been packed away into cardboard boxes that Kyo had run off to collect from her apartment. Ren had decided to keep one that looked a bit interesting to him (<em>Social Thought</em>, which he thought might be useful for his studies at some point) but he agreed with Kyo's assessment. While some of the books were a little battered and aged, Sojiro Sakura could probably take them out to a used bookstore at some point or put them up for sale online.</p><p>At last, Kyo obligingly shifted around the coffee bags (she'd taken off her uniform blazer and rolled up her sleeves, and she certainly <em>did</em> have muscles) and Ren had tucked his luggage box into the bottom shelf where he could easily slide it halfway out and go rooting around for things he needed as he needed them.</p><p>In the end, Ren stood in the middle of the room alongside two cute schoolgirls and one Kyo Morinaga, admiring the results of their handiwork. It would have taken way longer if he'd had to do it himself, but finally he was ready to flop down in bed and put it all out of his mind.</p><p>"I'd say we managed to make the most of this!" Ann said cheerfully, pumping a fist with maximum pep. "It even kind of looks like a room now!"</p><p>"There's a lot of space up here, too," Shiho said, with the air of someone looking on the bright side of a crappy situation. "You might not be able to do anything while there are customers downstairs, but I bet you could get some good exercising done in here."</p><p>"Of course the athlete would think o' that, of all things," Kyo said, poking Shiho in the ribs. Shiho squeaked and blushed.</p><p>"W-well, if you can exercise at home, you don't have to worry about gym fees and stuff!" Shiho said. "Not many kids our age have this much space to work with."</p><p>Ann laughed, and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Oh, Shiho, we all know you have volleyball on the brain... we love you anyway."</p><p>Ren, shaking his head, took a few steps forward and turned to face his guests.</p><p>"This was a big help, you three," he said, adjusting his now-quite-dusty glasses. "I'll treat you all to a meal after school sometime, once I'm settled. I still need to do a bit of job-hunting first, though. Maybe the week before midterms?"</p><p>"Oh, you don't need to do that! We were happy to help," Shiho said. Ann playfully smacked her on the arm.</p><p>"Speak for yourself! You owe me double-chocolate crepes from that shop on Central Street, Amamiya-kun!" Ann joked. Ren's grin widened in good humor.</p><p>"Don't do it! Her stomach is bottomless when it comes t' sweets," Kyo warned ominously.</p><p>Ann turned a scandalized look on Kyo. "<em>You</em> don't get to talk, dinosaur girl. Didn't Shiho say something about you finishing the first level of the Big Bang Burger challenge the other day?!" Kyo cackled, and Ann turned to Ren, pointing an accusing finger at her. "<em>She</em> is already getting cooking lessons out of this."</p><p>Ren smirked. "Oh yeah," he said as if just remembering, adjusting his glasses again with his fingers in a position that might or might not have been a rude gesture. "Morinaga pays for her own meal, then."</p><p>"Pff, you jerks..." Kyo said, and flopped face-first onto the undusted sofa. "Take advantage o' me all evenin' like I'm some sorta pack animal, and I still get no respect."</p><p>The girls laughed, Ren chuckled, and the four of them parted on amicable terms before the sky had even dimmed to orange. All in all, it was a good day. And the bed was more comfortable than it looked, too. As Ren lay awake in bed that night, his mind was full of pleasant things like smiles and giggles and all the small-talk the girls had made while they worked. After they'd all left, Sakura had stayed behind to give him a stern talking-to about his situation before locking up and going home, but even that hadn't really blunted the easy comfort Ren was feeling tonight.</p><p>He didn't think of anything unpleasant at all until he went to set his phone alarm for the morning's excursion to Shujin Academy. He'd caught the name of the school on the front emblem of the girls' uniforms, and the phonetic similarity to the word "prisoner" had almost made him laugh out loud. He'd brought it up to the girls and they'd all made a few jokes at the school's expense. He was still grinning sardonically at the pun as he unlocked his phone...</p><p>...and the grin slid off his face as he saw it. The icon, red-and-black and all sharp angles, that <em>eye</em> flashing at him from his app list. As if he hadn't deleted it. As if it had always been there. Just... staring at him.</p><p>...</p><p><em>So creepy</em>, Ren thought, and dragged it over to the trash can again. Plop. In it went.</p><p>With a sigh, he set his alarm and let his eyes to slide shut for the first solid night of sleep he'd had in a good, long while.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The first full chapter from Ren Amamiya's perspective! Apologies to those of you who prefer the "Akira Kurusu" name, but I'm actually just partial to the name that sounds more like an actual name and not so much like on-the-nose nominal determinism. Anyway, this story is well and truly alive again! I have an idea of where the next few chapters will go. I hope this chapter works for y'all. I'm not a big fan of fanfics that just regurgitate the original script with less impact because they're in a rush to get past it, so I tried to really get inside Ren's head for the narration and description aspect as if, for most of the chapter, I were writing a scene for a novelization. I think it was a worthwhile exercise, because I feel I have a better idea of how to go about portraying Ren in future chapters.</p><p>Well, until next time, ladies and gentlemen... see ya!</p><p>Oh, but please drop a review if you have a moment. After leaving this story untouched for two years before last chapter got uploaded, it really does help to have the extra motivation to push onward.</p><p>— Lewis Medeiros,<br/>June 23rd, 2020 at 3:18 PM</p><p>P.S. Because I forgot to include it when I copied the existing chapters over from FanFiction.net, I've added a description of Shiho's Persona to the end of "A Song of Ice and Fire."</p><p>Additional Note: As a friend of mind had some critiques of this chapter, I made some edits to this one. If you read it before seeing this note, you read an outdated version of the chapter. Sorry!</p>
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